Musk has delivered 1,000 ventilators to help California hospitals treat #COVID_19 patients, according to Gov. Gavin Newsom

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has followed through on his promise to deliver 1,000 ventilators to help California hospitals treat patients diagnosed with COVID-19, Governor Gavin Newsom said during a press conference Monday.

"I told you a few days ago that [Musk] was likely to have 1,000 ventilators this week," Newsom said, adding: "They've arrived in Los Angeles... It was a heroic effort."

Last week, after Newsom said he had spoken with a "well-known entrepreneur" about ventilators, Musk hinted that plans for production were already underway at Tesla factories, tweeting: "We're working on ventilators, even though I think there will not be a shortage by the time we can make enough to matter."

Musk has repeatedly downplayed the severity of the coronavirus pandemic, calling the panic surrounding it "dumb" and falsely claiming that children are "essentially immune" to the virus, despite evidence to the contrary. Musk also initially hedged his promise about producing ventilators just minutes after making it, speculating that there wouldn't be a shortage after all — also flying in the face of experts' predictions.