Hundreds cases of COVID-19 positively tested in workers were reported at the Tesla Bay Area factory near San Francisco after the facility reopened in May 2020, The Washington Post reported on Saturday, citing data from the Alameda County Department of Health.
The infection surge at the Tesla production facility became known almost immediately after production resumed, although the local authorities have not revealed exact figures, citing a data protection law.
The recent county coronavirus data was obtained by transparency website PlainSite. The document depicts that, shortly after the opening, ten COVID-19 cases were indicated and the number of infected employees grew steadily, reaching 125 in December 2020. Over eight months, the Tesla Bay Area facility recorded about 450 cases among the 10,000 staff.
Earlier, Elon Musk slammed California's restrictive health measures, describing them as fascist. He demanded Tesla's plant reopen, despite the state-wide lockdown, and threatened to move Tesla’s headquarters and part of its production from California, to Texas or Nevada.
Musk reached an agreement with Alameda authorities and the facility reopened after Musk pledged to secure the necessary sanitary guidelines, such as honoring the mask mandate and observing social distancing.
