By Rebecca Elliott
$Tesla, Inc.(TSLA.US)$ is telling workers at its Nevada battery factory they will be required to wear a mask indoors starting Monday regardless of vaccination status, joining the growing number of companies with such mandates.
Workers at the Reno, Nev.-area facility had previously been required to wear a mask if they weren't vaccinated, but could avoid that requirement if they were, people familiar with the matter said. The company cited the updated Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance in its policy change.
Tesla didn't respond to a request for comment. The Nevada government has said it may impose a mask mandate this week in the county where Tesla's factory is located if transmission rates don't improve.
Counties in the San Francisco Bay Area, where Tesla has an auto plant, mandated that people wear a mask indoors starting last week.
Tesla's move follows a similar one by its Detroit car company rivals, which said last week that they were reinstating a mask mandate for workers at all factories, offices and warehouses.
Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk last year struck a defiant tone in the early days, battling to reopen his U.S. car plant, which was temporarily shut down. Despite the weekslong disruption, Tesla last year delivered its first full-year of profit.
Write to Rebecca Elliott at rebecca.elliott@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
August 08, 2021 13:41 ET (17:41 GMT)
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