Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted Monday that the company’s Fremont, Calif., factory had restarted production, despite standing orders by Alameda County to remain closed.
“Tesla is restarting production today against Alameda County rules,” Musk tweeted. “I will be on the line with everyone else. If anyone is arrested, I ask that it only be me.”
Tesla is restarting production today against Alameda County rules. I will be on the line with everyone else. If anyone is arrested, I ask that it only be me.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 11, 2020
The parking lot at the massive plant in Fremont, which employs 10,000 workers, was nearly full Monday. It appeared to have a similar number of vehicles as it does when the factory is fully operating.
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A normal complement of workers would violate orders from the Alameda County Health Department, which has deemed Tesla’s Fremont factory a nonessential business that can’t open under restrictions to help stop the spread of novel coronavirus.
A statement posted by Tesla on its website Saturday night said the company “has started the process of resuming operations” but didn’t say when manufacturing would actually begin. A message was left Monday seeking comment from the company.
The full parking lot came two days after Tesla sued Alameda County’s Health Department seeking to overturn the order, and Musk threatened to move Tesla’s manufacturing and headquarters operations out of the state.
Tesla co-founder and CEO Elon Musk.
(FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images)
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“Our employees are excited to get back to work, and we’re doing so with their health and safety in mind,” Tesla’s Saturday statement said.
Tesla contends in the lawsuit that Alameda County can’t be more restrictive than orders from California Gov. Gavin Newsom. The lawsuit says the governor’s coronavirus restrictions refer to federal guidelines classifying “vehicles and commercial ships manufacturing” as essential businesses that are allowed to continue operating.
“Frankly, this is the final straw,” Musk wrote in a now-deleted tweet. “Tesla will now move its HQ and future programs to Texas/Nevada immediately.”
He wrote that whether the company keeps any manufacturing in Fremont depends on how Tesla is treated in the future.
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Newsom has said repeatedly that counties can impose restrictions that are more stringent than state orders. Alameda County was among six San Francisco Bay Area counties that were the first in the nation to impose stay-at-home orders in mid-March.
Newsom on Monday said that he was unaware that the Tesla plant has reopened. The governor said he talked with Musk “a number of days ago” to discuss the Newsom’s statewide plan to allow eligible manufactures to reopen, including auto manufacturers. However, Newsom said he supported the right of local health officials to have stricter rules on reopening.
“My understanding is they have had some very constructive conversations with the folks at that facility, the county health director, and they’re working to focus on the health and safety of the employees at that facility,” Newsom said. “My belief and hope and expectation is as early as next week they will be able to resume.”
Musk has been ranting about the stay-home order since the company’s April 29 first-quarter earnings were released. He called the restrictions fascist and urged governments to stop taking people’s freedom.
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The Bay Area order forced Tesla to close the plant starting March 23 to help prevent the virus’ spread, and it was extended until the end of May. Public health experts say the orders have reduced the number of new coronavirus cases nationwide.
The coronavirus causes mild to moderate symptoms for most people. But it has killed nearly 80,000 people in the U.S., with the death toll rising.
Alameda County Sheriff Sgt. Ray Kelly said Monday that he didn’t know whether Tesla has reopened and that this is in the “attorney phase.” Any enforcement would come from Fremont police, he said. Fremont police did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Mayor Lily Mei, who has expressed support for Tesla, also did not immediately return messages seeking comment.
State law allows a fine of as much as $1,000 per day or up to 90 days in jail for operating in violation of health orders.
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On Monday, the county Health Department referred to a statement it made Saturday saying it was working with Tesla to develop a safety plan allowing the Fremont plant to reopen.
The department said it looks forward to reaching agreement on a plan to reopen “very soon,” but noted that given the sacrifices made to protect public health, “it is our collective responsibility to move through the phases of reopening and loosening the restrictions” in the safest way possible.
Tesla says it has safety procedures to protect workers including increased cleaning, enforcement of social distancing, providing face coverings and gloves where needed, installing barriers between workers when necessary and worker temperature checks at “some locations.”
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It would be costly and difficult to quickly shift production from Fremont to Texas or Nevada. The Fremont facility, formerly run jointly by General Motors and Toyota, is Tesla’s only U.S. vehicle assembly plant, and the company would lose crucial production if it shut down the plant to move equipment.
But Musk plans another U.S. factory to increase output, possibly in Texas, and could move production once that plant is up and running.
Newsom sidestepped a question about Musk’s threat to move Tesla out of California, taking pains to say that he was a major supporter of innovative companies. He did say, however, that Tesla has benefited greatly by being in the state.
“I have more confidence moving forward in our ability to support a company that this state has substantively supported for now many, many years,” Newsom said. “And in return, we have been beneficiaries of their incredible growth, ingenuity and innovative spirit. We look forward to many, many decades of that relationship and I know many of us are frustrated by where we are in this pandemic.”
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The lack of production in Fremont has cut off Tesla’s revenue and is a big financial strain. On a conference call last month, Musk said the Fremont facility produces the majority of its vehicles. He called the closure of the Fremont plant a “serious risk.”
Tesla’s moves come as competing automakers are starting to reopen factories in the U.S. Toyota also planned to restart production Monday, while General Motors, Ford and Fiat Chrysler all plan to restart their plants gradually on May 18. Tesla is the only major automaker with a factory in California.
Times staff writer Phil Willon contributed to this report.
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