• The Los Angeles Times reports that Tesla’s factory in Fremont, California, will keep building cars despite a “shelter-in-place” order to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus.
  • Alameda County, where the plant is located, considers Tesla an “essential business” that can continue operating while the order is in effect.
  • Tesla CEO Elon Musk told employees in an email on Monday that he will continue reporting to work, but they can stay home if they are sick or fearful of contracting the virus.
  • Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.

Tesla’s plant Fremont, California, will stay open in spite of a lockdown order issued in the San Francisco Bay Area to help curb the spread of the novel coronavirus, according to reports.

“Tesla and our supplier network will continue operations that directly support factory production, vehicle deliveries and service,” Tesla’s North American head of human resources, Valerie Capers Workman, told employees in an email obtained by Bloomberg this week.

The Fremont factory, which employs roughly 10,000 workers, remains in operation despite a “shelter in place” order issued by six Bay Area counties on Monday. The directive requires residents to stay inside their homes and forces most businesses to close, but excludes “essential businesses” such as healthcare facilities, gas stations, banks, grocery stores, laundromats, and pharmacies.

Alameda County, where the Fremont plant is based, has deemed Tesla an “essential business,” according to a county spokesperson who spoke with The Los Angeles Times.

In an earlier email on Monday, Tesla CEO Elon Musk told employees that they may stay home if they feel sick or are concerned about coming to work amid the outbreak.

"I'd like to be super clear that if you feel the slightest bit ill or even uncomfortable, please do not feel obligated to come to work," Musk said in an email provided to Business Insider. "I will personally be at work, but that's just me. Totally ok if you want to stay home for any reason."

In the email, Musk also reiterated his belief that the fear surrounding the coronavirus is disproportionate to the threat of the virus.

"My frank opinion remains that the harm from the coronavirus panic far exceeds that of the virus itself," he said. "If there is a massive redirection of medical resources out of proportion to the danger, it will result in less available care to those with critical medical needs, which does not serve the greater good."

Musk has drawn criticism lately for downplaying the seriousness of the coronavirus, which has resulted in close to 7,500 deaths worldwide, including 94 in the US, as of this publishing.

In an email seen by Buzzfeed News to employees of his other company, SpaceX, on Friday, Musk minimized the threat of COVID-19 by saying that the chances of dying in a car accident were much higher than those of being killed by the virus. In a March 6 tweet, the CEO said the "coronavirus panic is dumb."

Several automakers with plants in Europe have shut down factories, including Volkswagen, Fiat Chrysler, PSA Group, Ferrari, and Lamborghini. On Tuesday, the United Auto Workers union called on the Detroit Big Three - General Motors, Ford and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles - to implement a two-week shutdown.

So far, though, the UAW said the companies "were not willing to implement this request."