UPDATE:

What leaders say Elon Musk can do to help Flint

Billionaire Elon Musk appears to have joined the effort to help Flint with its ongoing water crisis.

In a series of Tweets that seemed to develop out of nowhere, the forward-thinking entrepreneur said that he will fund fixing water in any house in Flint that has water contamination above accepted U.S. Food and Drug Administration levels.

Please consider this a commitment that I will fund fixing the water in any house in Flint that has water contamination above FDA levels. No kidding. — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 11, 2018

The commitment came in response to the following, which was Tweeted by another user.

Hey @elonmusk I heard a bunch of people saying there's NO WAY you could help get clean water to Flint, Michigan. Said you wouldn't be capable idk — Baby D (@DylanSheaMusic) July 11, 2018

Due to the random nature of the commitment, it was initially unclear how serious the pledge was, but the Tesla co-founder followed up his original Tweet with others directing Flint residents how to get in touch with him.

For now, reply to my tweet with ppm & ppb test results & will send someone to install a water filter. Creating email flint@x.com, but I’m in China so that won’t be working until tomorrow. — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 11, 2018

He also indicated he plans to get boots on the ground in Flint to fix the problem, so the pledge appears to be legitimate.

You’re right on both counts. Most houses in Flint have safe water, but they’ve lost faith in govt test results. Some houses are still outliers. Will organize a weekend in Flint to add filters to those houses with issues & hopefully fix perception of those that are actually good. — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 11, 2018

Good point. Maybe use non-plumbers with work inspected/approved by pros. — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 11, 2018

The ongoing Flint water crisis began in 2014 when city officials switched off of Detroit's water supply to draw water from the Flint River instead. Poor water treatment led to contaminated water which was used by more than 100,000 of the city's residents.

Several officials have been charged in the crisis. Twelve people have died and thousands have been poisoned.