California gives Tesla 'essential workforce' exemption

San Francisco, Nov 21 (IANS) The California state in the US has exempted Tesla from the new Covid-19 health orders, saying employees at Teslas Fremont plant are "essential workers".According to a report in CNBC, the California Department of Public Health said that manufacturing is considered an "essential workforce".California Governor Gavin Newsom has announced new measures such as a "limited stay-at-home order" to slow new coronavirus cases in the state. Tesla and CEO Elon Musk had defied state and county health orders and kept Tesla factory running a couple of months back.Musk threatened to move his Fremont car factory in California to Nevada or Texas if the state did not allow the facility to open despite the sheltering-in-home in place.Musk filed a lawsuit in California''s Alameda County to reopen the Fremont Tesla plant.The new health orders allow Tesla plant in Fremont to continue operating in accordance with its prior Covid-19 safety plan.The Tesla California plant was shut on March 23 under a six-county order in the San Francisco area, which was extended through May 31.Defying the stay-at-home order in place, Musk reopened Tesla factory in Fremont, California, challenging the authorities to arrest him if he defied the rules.
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