Elon Musk becomes champion of defying virus stay-home orders

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has emerged as a champion of defying stay-home orders intended to stop the coronavirus from spreading, picking up support — as well as critics — on social media.

Among the supporters was President Donald Trump, who on Tuesday morning tweeted that Tesla's San Francisco Bay Area factory should be allowed to open despite local health department orders that it stay closed except for minimum basic operations.

“It can be done fast & safely,” the president tweeted, joining many of Musk's 34 million Twitter followers who back the defiance.

Among Musk’s biggest critics is California Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, who used an expletive to describe the CEO after his threats to relocate his operations to Texas or Nevada. She said the company is disregarding worker safety and bullying public officials.

Tesla's factory reopened Monday with Musk practically daring local authorities to arrest him. The plant apparently continued operations on Tuesday. The company met a Monday deadline to submit a site-specific plan to protect worker safety, which the Alameda County Public Health Department is reviewing, said county spokeswoman Neetu Balram.

The restart defied orders from the county health department, which has deemed the factory a nonessential business that can’t fully open under virus restrictions. The department said Monday it warned the company was operating in violation of the county health order, and hoped Tesla will “comply without further enforcement measures” until the county approves a site-specific plan required by the state.

“We look forward to reviewing Tesla’s plan and coming to agreement on protocol and a timeline to reopen safely,” the statement read.

State law allows a fine of up to $1,000 a day or up to 90 days in jail...