Tesla CEO Musk restarts California factory amid lockdown

WIN MCNAMEE / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP

Elon Musk has defied official orders and reopened a Tesla factory in California.

The Tesla Inc Chief Executive made the announcement on Twitter while expressing his willingness to be arrested for the move.

"If anyone is arrested, I ask that it only be me," he wrote, while adding that he would join workers on the assembly line.

Musk had earlier criticised stay-at-home orders introduced by health officials in Alameda County to curb the spread of COVID-19, and has been pushing to reopen the plant.

It comes just days after Musk's attorneys filed a lawsuit seeking an injunction against the county's stay-at-home order.

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