Tesla China Donates ¥5M To Help Fight Coronavirus

The coronavirus is daunting, and while many are fearful, many more are stepping up to help make an impact and save lives. Tesla China is helping with the fight against the coronavirus by donating ¥5M to the local CDC in hopes of helping to fight the fast-spreading outbreak.

The coronavirus is scary because of its ability to spread super fast and the death toll it is quickly racking up. Fear has taken the world by storm and the death of Dr. Li Wenliang, who issued the warning about this strange new virus but was shut down by Chinese authorities, has only added more fear. The doctor was only 34.

Tesmanianreports that Tesla China donated ¥5 million to China’s CDC to help fight this outbreak. Tesla’s CFO, Zachary Kirkhorn, spoke about the outbreak and how it affected Tesla’s Giga Shanghai operations. Despite the fact that Gigafactory 3 is temporarily closed along with all other factories in China, Tesla chose to help both the government and citizens of China fight this virus and is willing to do so by any means necessary.

“At this point, we’re expecting a 1 to 1½ week delay in the ramp (up) of Shanghai-built Model 3 due to a government-required factory shutdown,” Tesla’s chief financial officer Zachary Kirkhorn said during the Tesla Q4 2019 earnings call.

On Tesla China’s official Weibo account, Tesla China said that it was willing to do more than just shut down the Gigafactory, that it would also donate ¥5 million to CDC China to help mitigate the spread of the novel coronavirus. Tesla is also giving Tesla owners in China free Supercharging so that they can operate their vehicles easily — even in cities that are currently locked down.

Imagine you are in a city that is impacted by an outbreak and your car runs out of gas. That would be a horrifying ordeal. Tesla’s help giving free fuel to its customers shows that this company genuinely cares about people.

Another way Tesla China is helping its customers is through the TikTok app. Each Tesla store has its own account and holds a live stream with sales reps that feature Tesla vehicles followed by a Q&A session.

Even though Gigafactory Shanghai is currently shut down, Tesla China is still recruiting for production operators, QC specialists, forklift operators, and security guards. Job applicants can file applications online and wait for the online job fair date.

Tesla isn’t the only American company stepping up to help China tackle the coronavirus. Apple is donating to groups on the ground, according to a tweet by its CEO, Tim Cook. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation pledged up to $100 million to help with improving detection, isolation, and treatment efforts. This will actually help prevent the virus from spreading so quickly, we all hope.

Walmart partnered with a Shenzhen-based nonprofit to donate $143,000 to help with medical supplies and local relief efforts in the Hubei province, which is the center of the outbreak. “I can’t help but take pride in the way our teams come together to support their communities,” Judith McKenna, CEO of Walmart International, said in a statement.

The hedge fund Citadel along with Citadel Securities donated $7.5 million to the Hubei Charity Federation as well as the China Charity Federation to help with relief efforts. $1 million of that went to help cover hand sanitizer, masks, and other medical supplies. JPMorgan donated $1 million to the China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation, which is helping with relief and recovery efforts. Burger King and McDonald’s are donating food to hospitals treating coronavirus patients, and Pepsi donated $725,000 to support those working on the front lines in Wuhan, as well as helping with medical equipment.

AbbVie is a biopharmaceutical company and it is donating more than $1 million worth of an HIV drug to help fight the virus. This drug is now being used in trials as a possible therapy against the coronavirus. Kaletra, a mix of two anti-HIV drugs, lopinavir and ritonavir, has been used on patients in a trial in China since January. There are no proven treatments, though. GSK, which is a vaccine manufacturer, and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations are collaborating to make GSK’s vaccine-boosting compounds available to speed the development of a coronavirus vaccine.

The truth is that this virus is spreading, but in light of all the fear, which is spreading even quicker, there is hope. Hope because many people care about their fellow man and woman. Despite the trade war with China, Americans know and value more important things besides politics: we care about our fellow human beings. At least, I would like to believe that.