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“We Will Make Ventilators,” Elon Musk Promises — NYC Will Be One Buyer – CleanTechnica

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March 19th, 2020 by  


“We will make ventilators if there’s a shortage,” Elon Musk said on Twitter last night. From my perspective, this is why we love Elon Musk. He cares about humanity and wants to help. If Tesla makes ventilators for hospitals, we should keep in mind just how fast Tesla moves. In less than a year, the Shanghai Gigafactory was up, running, and producing vehicles.

The swift response on Twitter was that there was a shortage. In fact, “THERE IS A SHORTAGE” (in all caps like that) quickly rose to the top of Twitter’s trending topics. Many places are already facing or on the verge of facing shortages for ventilators, not to mention other things.

Here in Louisiana, several hospitals in New Orleans were recently running out of N95 masks. Jamie, an ER physician in New Orleans, wrote a post on Facebook. “My partners and I are hurting for PPE (personal protective equipment). We depend on lot’s of supplies from Asian countries and exports have been shut down. We are forced to see infected patients — your friends, uncles, brothers, mothers, grandparents — with minimal gear that barely protects us.”

In New York City, hospitals have already been facing the fact that there are not be enough ventilators. Currently, patients are sharing them, but they may soon have to make life-or-death decisions similar to the doctors in Italy. The flood of patients in critical condition has presented doctors and hospitals in Italy a devastating choice: who to save and who to let die? They decided to prioritize younger and healthier people who would have a better chance of survival.

NBC reports that New York has a potential shortage of 18,000 ventilators. Montefiore Health System is revamping its ventilator allocation policy and making tough choices. If there isn’t enough equipment, you may not get access to a ventilator if someone gets a prognosis that, no matter what, they probably won’t get better.

New York City Mayor Bill DeBlasio responded to Elon on Twitter requesting for ventilators, and Elon just responded that they would get in touch with his team to get rolling.

New York is just one location. Many, many other places are expecting to have the same problem. This is why social distancing is so important right now.

Elon’s promise to make ventilators brings hope because the world is facing a crisis — the coronavirus is being easily spread and there is no certain cure. As it spreads through our own healthcare system quickly, people facing the worst symptoms are being put into intensive care, but the capacity of these systems — for example, the available beds and ventilators — get taken up. Elon’s promise will help prevent some hospitals from making that choice: who gets to die and who gets to live.

There are other problems from our broken health care and pandemic response system.

For example: A few days ago, I found myself experiencing symptoms. I’d recently been to the DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles) and several other places. When my fever got to 100°F, I took some Tylenol, I wrapped a scarf over my face, and I took an Uber to the ER. The hospital had very strict policies and wouldn’t let me enter at the main entrance. I had to walk to the other side where the ambulance entrance was. Security was at every entrance. 

When I got there, I was seen immediately, provided a mask, and ushered into a separate area where everyone was masked and gloved up — but the masks were not N95 and there were three others there in the waiting room. 

It turned out I had strep throat — I literally laughed at the doctor. However, I wasn’t even tested for COVID-19, and there wasn’t a chest X-ray even though I had trouble breathing and severe chest pain. I did have an EKG and my blood was drawn. However, once the strep test came back positive, I was given a shot in the leg (that was worse than the throat swab!), sent along, and I am now on a 2-week quarantine. Although, I am an introvert and never go anywhere except to the riverfront or Walmart, so this part is easy.

The Advocate reports that local hospitals are ready for COVID-19, but that doesn’t seem “ready” to me. Doctor Steven Grimillion, of Our Lady of the Lake (OLOL), which is the hospital I went to, said that, “We have in our hospital, and in our clinics, developed processes so that a patient who we think might have the novel coronavirus gets tested so we have a plan on how that works.” Yet, I wasn’t tested. 
 

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About the Author

Johnna Crider is a Baton Rouge artist, gem and mineral collector, and Tesla shareholder who believes in Elon Musk and Tesla. Elon Musk advised her in 2018 to “Believe in Good.”

Tesla is one of many good things to believe in. You can find Johnna on Twitter



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Telus prioritizing ‘most important customers,’ avoiding ‘unprofitable’ offers: CFO

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Telus Corp. says it is avoiding offering “unprofitable” discounts as fierce competition in the Canadian telecommunications sector shows no sign of slowing down.

The company said Friday it had fewer net new customers during its third quarter compared with the same time last year, as it copes with increasingly “aggressive marketing and promotional pricing” that is prompting more customers to switch providers.

Telus said it added 347,000 net new customers, down around 14.5 per cent compared with last year. The figure includes 130,000 mobile phone subscribers and 34,000 internet customers, down 30,000 and 3,000, respectively, year-over-year.

The company reported its mobile phone churn rate — a metric measuring subscribers who cancelled their services — was 1.09 per cent in the third quarter, up from 1.03 per cent in the third quarter of 2023. That included a postpaid mobile phone churn rate of 0.90 per cent in its latest quarter.

Telus said its focus is on customer retention through its “industry-leading service and network quality, along with successful promotions and bundled offerings.”

“The customers we have are the most important customers we can get,” said chief financial officer Doug French in an interview.

“We’ve, again, just continued to focus on what matters most to our customers, from a product and customer service perspective, while not loading unprofitable customers.”

Meanwhile, Telus reported its net income attributable to common shares more than doubled during its third quarter.

The telecommunications company said it earned $280 million, up 105.9 per cent from the same three-month period in 2023. Earnings per diluted share for the quarter ended Sept. 30 was 19 cents compared with nine cents a year earlier.

It reported adjusted net income was $413 million, up 10.7 per cent year-over-year from $373 million in the same quarter last year. Operating revenue and other income for the quarter was $5.1 billion, up 1.8 per cent from the previous year.

Mobile phone average revenue per user was $58.85 in the third quarter, a decrease of $2.09 or 3.4 per cent from a year ago. Telus said the drop was attributable to customers signing up for base rate plans with lower prices, along with a decline in overage and roaming revenues.

It said customers are increasingly adopting unlimited data and Canada-U.S. plans which provide higher and more stable ARPU on a monthly basis.

“In a tough operating environment and relative to peers, we view Q3 results that were in line to slightly better than forecast as the best of the bunch,” said RBC analyst Drew McReynolds in a note.

Scotiabank analyst Maher Yaghi added that “the telecom industry in Canada remains very challenging for all players, however, Telus has been able to face these pressures” and still deliver growth.

The Big 3 telecom providers — which also include Rogers Communications Inc. and BCE Inc. — have frequently stressed that the market has grown more competitive in recent years, especially after the closing of Quebecor Inc.’s purchase of Freedom Mobile in April 2023.

Hailed as a fourth national carrier, Quebecor has invested in enhancements to Freedom’s network while offering more affordable plans as part of a set of commitments it was mandated by Ottawa to agree to.

The cost of telephone services in September was down eight per cent compared with a year earlier, according to Statistics Canada’s most recent inflation report last month.

“I think competition has been and continues to be, I’d say, quite intense in Canada, and we’ve obviously had to just manage our business the way we see fit,” said French.

Asked how long that environment could last, he said that’s out of Telus’ hands.

“What I can control, though, is how we go to market and how we lead with our products,” he said.

“I think the conditions within the market will have to adjust accordingly over time. We’ve continued to focus on digitization, continued to bring our cost structure down to compete, irrespective of the price and the current market conditions.”

Still, Canada’s telecom regulator continues to warn providers about customers facing more charges on their cellphone and internet bills.

On Tuesday, CRTC vice-president of consumer, analytics and strategy Scott Hutton called on providers to ensure they clearly inform their customers of charges such as early cancellation fees.

That followed statements from the regulator in recent weeks cautioning against rising international roaming fees and “surprise” price increases being found on their bills.

Hutton said the CRTC plans to launch public consultations in the coming weeks that will focus “on ensuring that information is clear and consistent, making it easier to compare offers and switch services or providers.”

“The CRTC is concerned with recent trends, which suggest that Canadians may not be benefiting from the full protections of our codes,” he said.

“We will continue to monitor developments and will take further action if our codes are not being followed.”

French said any initiative to boost transparency is a step in the right direction.

“I can’t say we are perfect across the board, but what I can say is we are absolutely taking it under consideration and trying to be the best at communicating with our customers,” he said.

“I think everyone looking in the mirror would say there’s room for improvement.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:T)

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TC Energy cuts cost estimate for Southeast Gateway pipeline project in Mexico

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CALGARY – TC Energy Corp. has lowered the estimated cost of its Southeast Gateway pipeline project in Mexico.

It says it now expects the project to cost between US$3.9 billion and US$4.1 billion compared with its original estimate of US$4.5 billion.

The change came as the company reported a third-quarter profit attributable to common shareholders of C$1.46 billion or $1.40 per share compared with a loss of C$197 million or 19 cents per share in the same quarter last year.

Revenue for the quarter ended Sept. 30 totalled C$4.08 billion, up from C$3.94 billion in the third quarter of 2023.

TC Energy says its comparable earnings for its latest quarter amounted to C$1.03 per share compared with C$1.00 per share a year earlier.

The average analyst estimate had been for a profit of 95 cents per share, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:TRP)

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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BCE reports Q3 loss on asset impairment charge, cuts revenue guidance

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BCE Inc. reported a loss in its latest quarter as it recorded $2.11 billion in asset impairment charges, mainly related to Bell Media’s TV and radio properties.

The company says its net loss attributable to common shareholders amounted to $1.24 billion or $1.36 per share for the quarter ended Sept. 30 compared with a profit of $640 million or 70 cents per share a year earlier.

On an adjusted basis, BCE says it earned 75 cents per share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of 81 cents per share in the same quarter last year.

“Bell’s results for the third quarter demonstrate that we are disciplined in our pursuit of profitable growth in an intensely competitive environment,” BCE chief executive Mirko Bibic said in a statement.

“Our focus this quarter, and throughout 2024, has been to attract higher-margin subscribers and reduce costs to help offset short-term revenue impacts from sustained competitive pricing pressures, slow economic growth and a media advertising market that is in transition.”

Operating revenue for the quarter totalled $5.97 billion, down from $6.08 billion in its third quarter of 2023.

BCE also said it now expects its revenue for 2024 to fall about 1.5 per cent compared with earlier guidance for an increase of zero to four per cent.

The company says the change comes as it faces lower-than-anticipated wireless product revenue and sustained pressure on wireless prices.

BCE added 33,111 net postpaid mobile phone subscribers, down 76.8 per cent from the same period last year, which was the company’s second-best performance on the metric since 2010.

It says the drop was driven by higher customer churn — a measure of subscribers who cancelled their service — amid greater competitive activity and promotional offer intensity. BCE’s monthly churn rate for the category was 1.28 per cent, up from 1.1 per cent during its previous third quarter.

The company also saw 11.6 per cent fewer gross subscriber activations “due to more targeted promotional offers and mobile device discounting compared to last year.”

Bell’s wireless mobile phone average revenue per user was $58.26, down 3.4 per cent from $60.28 in the third quarter of the prior year.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:BCE)

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