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Social Capital CEO Chamath Palihapitiya defended Elon Musk’s reopening of Tesla facilities, defying local government orders, and told CNBC on Tuesday that local, state and government officials should be clearer in establishing regulations in the midst of the pandemic.
“The federal government has this specific set of guidelines. People may think they fall into those guidelines. Then they declare that they then issue guidelines and then they also have regulations at the local level. When you put them all together, it’s incredibly confusing,” Palihapitiya said. he said Tuesday in “Squawk Box”.
“So if you own a business and are trying to figure out how to get back to work, because you believe the risks are manageable, there is no clear way to go and get the approvals to do it.” added.
Musk has been pushing to quickly resume production at the company’s Fremont, California plant. On Monday, local television stations showed employees’ cars entering the company’s parking lots. California Governor Gavin Newsom said Monday he did not know that Tesla had restarted production before getting the go-ahead from Alameda County officials. Musk tweeted a confirmation that Tesla had resumed production on Monday afternoon and dared the local sheriff’s office to arrest him.
Although local authorities encountered strong resistance on the return, Musk threatened on Saturday to remove Tesla from California amid a dispute with Alameda County over the closure. Tesla also filed a lawsuit against the county, asking a federal court to overturn orders from local authorities that have prevented the automaker from resuming production.
Alameda County Fremont District Supervisor Scott Haggerty told the New York Times on Saturday that county executives and Tesla were working on a plan to restart the plant on May 18, when several automakers in Michigan plan to reopen . But Musk went ahead and opened Tesla factories on Monday. Tesla said in a blog post on Saturday night that it had developed new health and safety measures to protect its workers.
Palihapitiya said county officials should work with Musk to resume production on a consistent basis.
On Monday afternoon, the Alameda County Sheriff and the Alameda County Public Health Care Services Agency said in a statement: “We are actively communicating our comments and understand that Tesla will come up with a site-specific plan later today as required by the State of California manufacturing guide and checklist issued on May 7. We look forward to reviewing Tesla’s plan and reaching agreement on the protocol and timeline for safe reopening. “
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