Elon Musk's SpaceX Makes And Donates Face Shields, Protective Suits, Sanitizer For COVID-19 Healthcare Workers

The Space Exploration Company, better known as SpaceX, is making and distributing protective gear for healthcare workers fighting the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, CNBC reported Wednesday.

What Happened

The Elon Musk-led company told employees in an internal memo that it made and donated 75 face shields to Cedars-Sinai Health Center near its headquarters in Los Angeles earlier this week, according to CNBC.

SpaceX also donated 100 Tyvek suits to the healthcare workers dealing with the coronavirus cases at the hospital.

The Hawthorne-based company plans to step up efforts in producing and distributing hand sanitizer that "complies with CDC guidelines and is effective at killing the COVID-19 coronavirus," CNBC noted.

Why It Matters

The news comes as a SpaceX employee tested positive for the coronavirus earlier this week. The company has been producing hand sanitizers and distributing other protective equipment to ease employee fears over catching the virus.

SpaceX is allowed to function normally despite shelter-in-place orders as it is a defense contractor, which is seen as an essential service.

Tesla Inc. TSLA, the other company led by Musk, has also been making ventilators for patients who fall critically-ill from COVID-19 and require hospitalization.

California Governor Gavin Newsom said Monday that Tesla already delivered 1,000 ventilators it promised to the state.
Musk has frequently downplayed the severity of the pandemic. The billionaire entrepreneur said the "coronavirus panic is dumb," later adding that the risks from the panic remained worse than from the pandemic itself.