Elon Musk has become controversy’s favorite child. The serial-entrepreneur has been in news during the coronavirus pandemic for many reasons, starting from calling Tesla’s stock price “very high” to taking American astronauts into space on a Falcon rocket. But this time, things have turned worse for the founder of Tesla Inc.
Days after Musk defied Alameda County’s stay-at-home orders to reopen Tesla’s California production plant, several of his employees have tested positive for the COVID-19.
According to a report in The Washington Post, two workers with knowledge of the situation was quoted as saying that “supervisors held meetings with their teams to disclose the company had reported several cases of the coronavirus, and the employees affected were told to stay home”.
One of the workers said a supervisor confirmed two positive cases to a group at the Fremont-based seat assembly facility, the report added.
Trump’s fight with the local authorities also gained support from the President of the United States Donald Trump. He reopened the company’s electric car factory in Fremont that employs nearly 10,000 workers against the state guidelines. In a tweet, Musk had challenged the authorities to arrest him if he had defied the rules.
“Tesla is restarting production today against Alameda County rules. I will be on the line with everyone else. If anyone is arrested, I ask that it only be me,” Musk had tweeted.
Later, Tesla and Alameda County came to an agreement allowing the company to restart production if it adhered to strict social distancing. The worker told the Post that three people who had been quarantined because of potential exposure had returned to work, but those who tested positive haven’t returned to the factory.
Opening up of manufacturing plants have become a serious concern for authorities in India as well. Automakers like Maruti Suzuki India Ltd and Hyundai India both have reported cases of employees testing positive for COVID-19.
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