Coronavirus: Elon Musk's US Tesla factory suspends production Published duration 18 March Related Topics Coronavirus pandemic

image copyright Tesla factory

Tesla's main factory in California has begun a three-week lockdown to slow the spread of coronavirus.

It will be a blow to plans to ramp up production of the Model Y electric vehicle, for which the company had been expecting high demand.

Chief executive Elon Musk had said he hoped to continue manufacturing and delivering cars as normal.

Alameda County, where the factory is based, is limiting travel and business functions to only the most essential.

Mr Musk had previously written to workers, saying work at the Fremont plant would continue but they should not feel obligated to come in.

"My frank opinion remains that the harm from the coronavirus panic far exceeds that of the virus itself," he wrote in an email to employees

image copyright Getty Images image caption Mr Musk had told employees he intended to keep working

The San Francisco Bay Area counties have reported 273 coronavirus infections and California has reported 12 deaths from Covid-19.

The factory employs more than 10,000 workers and records annual production of about 415,000 electric vehicles.

Tesla had to shut down its Shanghai plant for 10 weeks, when the virus was at its peak in China.