FILE PHOTO: The company logo is pictured on a Tesla Model X electric car in Berlin, Germany, November 13, 2019. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch

(Reuters) - Tesla Inc TSLA.O cannot operate its main U.S. vehicle factory normally as the San Francisco Bay Area has begun a three-week lockdown to rein in the spread of coronavirus, a spokesman for the county's sheriff's office said on Tuesday.

“Tesla is not an essential business as defined in the Alameda County Health Order. Tesla can maintain minimum basic operations per the Alameda County Health Order,” the spokesman said.