Greater than 400 employees at a Tesla plant in California examined constructive for the coronavirus between Could and December, in accordance with public well being knowledge launched by a transparency web site.
The information supplies the primary glimpse into virus instances at Tesla, whose chief govt, Elon Musk, had downplayed the severity of the coronavirus disaster and reopened the plant in Could, in defiance of tips issued by native public well being officers.
Automakers throughout the nation halted manufacturing and closed crops for 2 months final 12 months from mid-March till mid-Could. After resuming manufacturing, different automakers publicly introduced when employees had examined constructive for the virus and halted manufacturing to forestall additional an infection amongst staff and to disinfect work areas.
Tesla, nonetheless, has launched little details about worker coronavirus instances.
The information was obtained by the web site PlainSite, which works to make authorized and governmental paperwork publicly accessible. It confirmed that 440 instances have been reported on the Tesla plant, which employs some 10,000 folks. The variety of instances rose to 125 in December from fewer than 11 in Could.