San Francisco, Nov 21 (IANS): The California state in the US has exempted Tesla from the new Covid-19 health orders, saying employees at Teslas Fremont plant are "essential workers".

According to a report in CNBC, the California Department of Public Health said that manufacturing is considered an "essential workforce".

California Governor Gavin Newsom has announced new measures such as a "limited stay-at-home order" to slow new coronavirus cases in the state. 

Tesla and CEO Elon Musk had defied state and county health orders and kept Tesla factory running a couple of months back.

Musk threatened to move his Fremont car factory in California to Nevada or Texas if the state did not allow the facility to open despite the sheltering-in-home in place.

Musk filed a lawsuit in California''s Alameda County to reopen the Fremont Tesla plant.

The new health orders allow Tesla plant in Fremont to continue operating in accordance with its prior Covid-19 safety plan.

The Tesla California plant was shut on March 23 under a six-county order in the San Francisco area, which was extended through May 31.

Defying the stay-at-home order in place, Musk reopened Tesla factory in Fremont, California, challenging the authorities to arrest him if he defied the rules.