Tesla to reopen New York plant 'as soon as humanly possible' to make ventilators: Musk

FILE PHOTO: SpaceX owner and Tesla CEO Elon Musk arrives on the red carpet for the automobile awards "Das Goldene Lenkrad" given by a German newspaper in Berlin, Germany, November 12, 2019. REUTERS/Hannibal Hanschke/File Photo

Tesla Inc <TSLA.O> will reopen its New York factory "as soon as humanly possible" to manufacture ventilators for coronavirus patients, Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk said on Twitter on Wednesday.

Medtronic Plc <MDT.N> Chief Executive Officer Omar Ishrak told CNBC earlier in the day that the medical device maker has started working with Tesla, which is fast on track to start production of ventilators at Fremont.

Governments across the globe have appealed to automakers and aerospace companies to help procure or make ventilators and other medical equipment.

FILE PHOTO: Omar Ishrak, CEO of Medtronic, speaks during an IBM keynote address at the 2016 CES trade show in Las Vegas, Nevada, January 6, 2016. REUTERS/Steve Marcus

Tesla had bought hospital ventilators in China and shipped them to the United States, Musk had said on Tuesday.

(Reporting by Munsif Vengattil in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)