Last week, President Donald Trump said his administration was in talks with Ford and General Motors to build medical equipment to help hospitals cope with the COVID-19 outbreak. Tesla also volunteered to help build the equipment but it now looks like Ford will be the first automaker to take up the call, according to the company's announcement on Tuesday.

Ford has just announced it will partner with 3M and GE Healthcare to manufacture 3M Powered Air-Purifying Respirators (PAPRs) and versions of GE ventilators. It will also work with the United Auto Workers to produce plastic face shields at its TDM subsidiary in Michigan and leverage its 3D printing capability to make personal protective equipment such as disposable respirators.