Elon Musk accepts Twitter challenge to get clean water to every home in Flint

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk accepted a challenge posed to him on Twitter.

“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 tweeted on Wednesday to Musk.

About six minutes later, Musk responded to Baby D with his promise to fix the residents' water problem that's been ongoing since 2014 when the city's water source changed and exposed the community to high levels of lead and other contaminants.

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

Thousands of people were poisoned when the water wasn't treated to reduce corrosion. The contaminated water led to dozens of cases of Legionnaires' disease. Twelve people died.

The government has claimed that the water in Flint is now safe for drinking, but many residents don't agree and won't drink the water.

In April, the Department of Environment Quality reported in that water samples tested at or below 4 parts per billion, which is below the federal action level of 15 ppb, WJBK-TV reported.

How will Musk fix the water problem?

In another tweet, Musk told people to reply to his tweet with ppm or pub test results and if they exceed FDA levels, he would send someone to their house to install a water filter.

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 said he would also create an email address, flint@x.com, that would be up and running Thursday.

" ... 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," Musk said in another tweet.

What did the Flint mayor say?

Shortly after the tweet exchange between Baby D and Musk, Flint Mayor Karen Weaver jumped into the Twitter conversation and asked the billionaire to give her a call.

"Mr. Musk, I am the Mayor of Flint. I would like to have a conversation with you about Flint’s specific needs," Weaver tweeted.

"Sure, I will give you a call tomorrow," Musk replied.

Mr. Musk, I am the Mayor of Flint. I would like to have a conversation with you about Flint’s specific needs.

— Karen About Flint (@karenaboutflint) July 11, 2018