--- title: "There’s a Huge “Active Outbreak” of COVID-19 at SpaceX HQ" description: "At least 132 SpaceX employees have tested positive for COVD-19 at the company's factory in Hawthorne, California, the Los Angeles Times reports." date: "2021-12-21" modified: "2021-12-21" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/neoscope/outbreak-covid-spacex" categories: - "Developments" - "Health & Medicine" - "Space" - "SpaceX" tags: - "coronavirus" - "covid19" - "elon musk" - "SpaceX" --- # There’s a Huge “Active Outbreak” of COVID-19 at SpaceX HQ ![At least 132 SpaceX employees have tested positive for COVD-19 at the company's factory in Hawthorne, California, the Los Angeles Times reports.]() *\Image: Steve Jurvetson\* At least 132 SpaceX employees have tested positive for COVD-19 at the company's factory in Hawthorne, California, the [*Los Angeles Times* reports]() — the biggest outbreak at a workplace in the area. According to [data]() provided by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, there is an "active outbreak" at the space company, but we aren't entirely sure how many active case of COVID there are as of right now. The data includes "cases reported since the beginning of the current active outbreak and may include some cases that have since recovered." Nevertheless, SpaceX accounts for almost a third of workplace COVID cases in the county, according to the county's public health department, where it's a major employer in the area, with 6,000 people staffed at its headquarters in Hawthorne. The news comes as the new Omicron variant of the coronavirus is sending cases of COVID skyrocketing across much of the globe — including California. The US is getting close to hitting records when it comes to new cases of COVID, with officials reporting [almost 300,000 new cases]() on Monday. Omicron is officially dominant in the country, making up more than 73 percent as of [late last week](). SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk has had a strained relationship with the coronavirus. In May 2020, Musk forced workers at Tesla's car plant in Fremont, California to keep working [despite county restrictions](). Then in March, news emerged that Musk's defiance at the time [led to hundreds of COVID-19 cases]() at the plant. Fortunately, a lot has changed since then, with vaccinations being widely available for many months, giving workers significant protection against severe illness. But the situation is nonetheless precarious. Officials are warning that knock-on effects of everybody becoming ill at the same time [could be devastating](). ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()