“If, for whatever reason, you don't believe there currently is a shortage, by all estimates, there will be,” said a social media user with the handle Internetchilla. “Please help.”
The Trump administration on Tuesday urged US construction companies to donate respirator masks to hospitals and health care providers fighting the virus, amid a nationwide shortage.
Companies such as Apple supplier Foxconn have refitted production lines to make masks and similar items after stores in many countries ran out and suppliers were overwhelmed by the spread of the virus.
An Italian start-up used a 3D printer to replicate respirator valves, saying it would hand them to hospitals for free. Italy is battling the world's worst outbreak outside China.
Last month, Chinese electric vehicle maker BYD said it was making five million masks and about 300,000 bottles of hand sanitisers a day.
On Wednesday, Tesla agreed to reduce the number of active workers at its California vehicle factory, a county spokesperson said, amid regional lockdowns to rein in the virus.
The company employs more than 10,000 workers at its sole US auto factory in Fremont.
Musk is not the first CEO to offer help with medical supplies on Twitter, however.
SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son offered a million free virus tests this month. A day later, after criticism that he risked overwhelming medical facilities, he offered to donate a million free masks.
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