Technology

In an effort to ensure that the latest updates related to COVID-19 are as visible as possible, YouTube announced today that they&re launching a dedicated hub on the YouTube home page for stories related to the coronavirus outbreak.

For YouTube, the dedicated shelf is a means of promoting &authoritative content& to users. In the U.S., most of these videos appear to be from national publications. It will be rolling out in 16 countries with more on the way, according to the companytweet.

The feature follows other home page changes promoting coronavirus awareness now seen on apps like Instagram.

YouTube has had its fair share of issues with promoting unsavory videos and conspiracy theories on its home page during past breaking news situations, and the news shelf may offer a way for the company to keep a stronger editorial hand on videos touching on the pandemic.

Nvidia is making its Parabricks tool available for free for 90 days (with the possibility of extension, depending on needs) to any researcher currently working on any effort to combat the ongoing novel coronavirus pandemic and spread of COVID-19. The tool is a GPU-accelerated genome analysis toolkit, which leveraged graphics processing power to take a process that previously took days, but that through its use can be accomplished in just a matter of hours.

Researchers will still need access to Nvidia GPUs for running the Parabricks genetic sequencing suite, but they won&t have to pay anything for the privilege of running the software. This is a big advantage for anyone studying the new coronavirus or the patients who have contracted the illness. The GPU-maker is also providing links to different cloud-based GPU service providers to lower that barrier to entry, as well.

We&ve cut down drastically on genomic sequencing times in the past few years, but they still require a massive amount of computing hardware, and Parabricks, which was acquired by Nvidia late last year, has developed technology that makes it possible to sequence an entire human genome in less than an hour — and thatusing a single server, not an entire server farm.

Speed is of the essence when it comes to every aspect of the continued effort to fight the spread of the virus, and the severe respiratory illness that it can cause. One of the biggest challenges that scientists and researchers working on building potential drug therapies and vaccines for the novel coronavirus face is lack of solid, reliable information. The more sequencing that can be done to understand, identify and verify characteristics of the genetic makeup of both the virus itself and patients who contract it (both during and post-infection), the quicker everyone will be able to move on to potential treatments and immunotherapies.

Tesla will suspend production at its Fremont, Calif., factory beginning March 23, days after a shelter in place order went into effect in Alameda County due to the COVID-19 pandemic that sparked a public tussle between the automaker and local officials over what was considered an &essential& business.

Some basic operations that would support Tesla charging infrastructure and what it describes as its &vehicle and energy services operations& will continue at the factory, which under normal circumstances employs more than 10,000 people.

Tesla will also suspend operations at its factory in Buffalo, N.Y., except for &those parts and supplies necessary for service, infrastructure and critical supply chains,& the company said in a statement.

Tesla could not be reached for comment. TechCrunch will update the story if the company responds.

The Alameda County Sheriff also confirmed the announcement, noting in a tweet that Tesla would suspend production during the health order and that minimum basic operations are permitted.

Meanwhile, the companymassive factory near Reno, Nev. is still open and operational as usual. The Nevada gigafactory, as Tesla describes it, employs thousands of people who produce electric motors for the Model 3 and battery packs for its portfolio of electric vehicles. People familiar with operations at the gigafactory told TechCrunch that managers are monitoring the situation closely.

Tesla said it has enough liquidity to weather the shutdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Its cash position at the end of the fourth quarter was $6.3 billion before its recent $2.3 billion capital raise.

&We believe this level of liquidity is sufficient to successfully navigate an extended period of uncertainty,& Tesla said.

The company hadavailable credit lines worth about $3 billion, including working capital lines for all regions as well as financing for the expansion of its Shanghai factory at the end of the fourth quarter of 2019.

The announcement caps an uncertain week that began March 16 after Alameda County ordered all nonessential businesses to close, including bars, gyms and dine-in restaurants because of the global spread of COVID-19, a disease caused by the coronavirus. Teslafactory and a number of its other facilities are located in and around Fremont, which is within Alameda County.

Tesla kept the Fremont factory open despite the order, claiming that part of the companyoperations fell under an exemption in the countyorder. Tesla CEOElon Musk told employees in an email that the company would continue operations at the Fremont factory, where the automaker assembles the Model S, Model X, Model 3 and now Model Y electric vehicles. Musk did tell employees they should not feel obligated to come to work if they &feel the slightest bit ill or even uncomfortable.&

The Alameda County Sheriff disagreed, and on March 17 tweeted that Tesla was not &essential.& The automaker still ignored the order and the sherifftweet.On Wednesday, employees received another email from human resources head Valerie Workman that the Fremont, Calif., factory was still open for production, because it has had &conflicting guidance from different levels of government.&

The email told employees to come to work if their job is to produce, service, deliver or test its electric vehicles. Another email sent late Wednesday evening (and viewed by TechCrunch) reiterated to employees that the factory would remain open to &essential& workers, but special efforts were being taken to lessen the spread of COVID-19, includinghanding out masks to be worn throughout the day, taking temperatures prior to entry, adding more hygiene stations inside the facility, rearranging operations to promote social distancing as much as possible and increasing cleaning frequency of all work areas.

Herea portion of the statement:

In the past few days, we have met with local, state and federal officials. We have followed and are continuing to follow all legal directions and safety guidelines with respect to the operations of our facilities, and have honored the Federal Governmentdirection to continue operating. Despite taking all known health precautions, continued operations in certain locations has caused challenges for our employees, their families and our suppliers.

As such, we have decided to temporarily suspend production at our factory in Fremont, from end of day March 23, which will allow an orderly shutdown. Basic operations will continue in order to support our vehicle and energy service operations and charging infrastructure, as directed by the local, state and federal authorities. Our factory in New York will temporarily suspend production as well, except for those parts and supplies necessary for service, infrastructure and critical supply chains. Operations of our others facilities will continue, including Nevada and our service and Supercharging network.

Tesla also said that it will start &touchless deliveries& in many locations to allow customers to take delivery of their vehicle &in a seamless and safe way.&

The vehicles will be placed in a delivery parking lot. Customers will be able to unlock the vehicles using the Tesla app and then sign the remaining paperwork necessary to take ownership. Customers will need to return that paperwork to an on-site drop-off location prior to leaving, Tesla said.

Workers prep for deliveries

As Tesla winds down the Fremont factory, the activity is shifting to its delivery operations. Tesla has a history of stacking deliveries at the end of a quarter. And this one is no different, COVID-19 or not.

Current Tesla employees have told TechCrunch that communication about operations in California, one of its biggest markets, has been inconsistent and unclear as the COVID-19 pandemic has spread. Employees, who requested anonymity for fear of losing their jobs described a lack of access to disinfectant, and said there were not clear or proper protocols put in place to safeguard workers in sales, service and delivery.

The lack of guidance for Tesla employees who work in delivery and sales throughout the U.S. has prompted some to take matters into their own hands because there is &zero protective gear.&

Employees told TechCrunch there is no disinfectant or gloves for delivery drivers, service or sales staff at some of its busiest delivery hubs. There has been little communication with upper management, as well. Employees have bought hand sanitizer, gloves and disinfectant for co-workers as they prepare for an onslaught of vehicles before the quarter ends. For instance, employees were told to expect 1,000 cars in Costa Mesa alone in the next three days. Other delivery hubs are expected to be busy as well.

The touchless delivery system began Wednesday in places like Costa Mesa. Some employees are worried about the risk of exposure to COVID because customers are still walking into locations because touchless delivery isn&t possible in all cases because of trade-ins and other reasons, such as financing.

The wild ride that has been U.S. stock market over the past couple of weeks may be settling down — at least for the moment — from the whiplash-like swingsthat helped set global markets on edge.

The new economic normal that the pandemic has brought to countries across the world seems to be settling on weary investors as the extent of COVID-19 becomes more clear and as proper testing begins to roll out along with massive trillion dollar aid packages.

Wall Street responded to reports of possible breakthroughs on the medical front, with vaccinations and other potential therapies touted by President Donald Trump causing some healthcare stocks to soar. But on the whole, the day was about digesting and coming to terms with where the world stands.

That was reflected in the major indices which couldn&t make up their minds for much of the day, but wound upup, in a nice surprise.

Herethe tale from the tape at market close:

• Dow Jones Industrial Average: +188.48, +0.95%
• S-P 500: +11.29, +0.47%
• Nasdaq Composite: +160.73, +2.30%

While tech led other sectors on the day, SaaS and cloud companies — a subset of tech itself — shone during regular trading. The Bessemer-Nasdaq cloud index rose 6.4%, a good result even if the tracker is still sharply off its recent highs.

Some automakers, nearly all of which have announced temporary shut downs, saw shares rise or at least remain steady. Honda, GM, Ford, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and Volkswagen have all said factories in North America will close. The closures were prompted by slowing demand due to the spread of COVID-19 as well as pressure from United Auto Workers to protect workers. GM and FCA have each reported a COVID-19 case among its workforce.

Ford saw shares fall 0.76% to close at $4.46 after the company said it would drawn down two credit lines to put an additional $15.4 billion of cash on its balance sheet and consider suspending its dividend.

GM saw shares rise 3% to $17.71 and FCA shares fall 6.37% to $6.47.

Meanwhile, Tesla shares took the biggest jump rising 18.39% to $427.64. Tesla is one of the only hold outs in the recent move to shutter plants. The companyfactory in Fremont, Calif., which is not unionized, remains open despite a shelter in-place order in Alameda County.

At TechCrunch, we aim to deliver a great show no matter what. We&re constantly looking at ways to broaden the reach of Disrupt — in 2018, for instance, we added several new pricing tiers to make sure the show is as accessible as possible.

Thatwhy today we&re announcing plans to offer access to Disrupt SF content and networking opportunities virtually for our flagship event. We&ve been thinking about this for a long time, as there have always been people who would love to come to our show but were unable to, but the coronavirus pandemic has sped up our time frame.

We have some creative ideas about what we can do to bring Disrupt SF alive online, and we&ll keep you in the loop as we go.

Today, however, we&re announcing the free tier of our virtual pass, the Disrupt Digital Pass. Digital Pass Holders will have access to the Disrupt Stage live stream, as well as access to the full slate of Disrupt Stage content via video on demand.

You can sign up for the free Disrupt Digital Pass now!

The new Digital Pass and Digital Pass Pro (to be announced soon!) are a complement to the existing Disrupt SF conference. The Moscone Center is booked for September 14-16, Battlefield Startups are applying each day and we&re well underway in programming the in-person show, with announcements about speakers coming soon!

But for folks who can&t make it to San Francisco, these digital passes will provide unprecedented and interactive access to the show online.

Interested? Sign up for the free Disrupt Digital Pass below.

The U.S. State Department has issued an unprecedented &do not travel& warning to U.S. citizens, as the number of coronavirus-related infections jumped sharply overnight.

The advisory said U.S. citizens should &avoid all international travel due to the global impact of COVID-19,& the coronavirus strain which last week was declared a global pandemic. The advisory added that citizens abroad should &arrange for immediate return& unless they are prepared to stay overseas indefinitely.

The warning was published Thursday, where the official count for coronavirus cases hit 220,000 infections around the world, with more than 10,000 cases in the United States alone.

Several countries have closed their borders and restricted travel to their citizens and residents in an effort to stem the spread of the virus.

This week, the European Union closed the so-called Schengen border, which covers the 27 member state bloc, and the U.S. closed its border with Canada to all but essential travel and trade.

The pandemic has seen stocks and global financial markets tank, prompting governments to inject cash and slash interest rates to try to keep their economies afloat.