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NEW YORK (REUTERS) – Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk said Monday (May 11) that production was resuming at the company’s main vehicle factory in California and asked to be the only one arrested as he challenged local officials who said the plant should remain closed. slow the spread of the coronavirus.
The move comes as states and cities across the United States are experimenting with ways to reopen their economies safely after the virus outbreak shuttered businesses and forced tens of millions of Americans to lose their jobs.
Musk over the weekend threatened to leave California to go to Texas or Nevada for the fight. His move has exposed competition for jobs and sparked a race to attract the billionaire executive from states that have reopened their economies more quickly in response to stimulus from United States President Donald Trump.
In an email Monday, Tesla referred to an order Thursday from the California governor allowing manufacturers to resume operations and said that as of Sunday, previously suspended employees returned to their regular state of employment.
“We are excited to be back at work and have put in place very detailed plans to help you stay safe when you return,” according to the email seen by Reuters titled “Furlough is over and we are back to production work!”
Musk said in a tweet that production would resume on Monday, adding that he would join the workers on the assembly line. “If someone is arrested, I ask that it be just me,” he wrote.
Health officials in Alameda County, where the Fremont factory is located, said Monday night that they knew Tesla had opened beyond the so-called minimum basic operations allowed during the shutdown, and notified the company that it could not operate without a county-approved permit. plan.
In a statement, officials said they expected a proposal from Tesla later Monday and “expect Tesla to comply without further enforcement measures as well.” The statement did not specify the consequences and said officials would not comment further.
The county’s closing order says violations are punishable by a fine, imprisonment, or both.
A spokeswoman for the Fremont Police Department said Monday that her office was enforcing the shutdown order under the direction of the health department and had been informed that the county is working directly with Tesla.
Separately Monday, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said California should do whatever it takes to help the electric car maker reopen its only vehicle factory in the United States if it wants to keep the company. in its state.
California Governor Gavin Newsom said Monday that he spoke to Musk several days ago and that the concerns of the Tesla founder helped the state begin its gradual reopening of manufacturing last week.
“I have known not only that company, but also its founder for many, many years,” Newsom said at his daily coronavirus press conference. “I have a great reverence for its technology, for its innovative spirit, for its leadership.”
Tesla, which also has a vehicle plant in Shanghai and is building another in Berlin, sued the county on Saturday, alleging it had violated the California constitution by defying Newsom’s orders allowing the manufacturers to reopen.
Musk has discussed opening a second American factory outside of California in the past. In a tweet in February, he asked for comments about the possible opening of a factory in Texas.
Since his threat to leave California on Saturday, officials from Texas, Georgia, Utah, Oklahoma and Nevada have contacted Musk on Twitter, encouraging him to move to his state.
A Texas official said his county was immediately available to accommodate Tesla and invited the billionaire CEO for a visit.
“We have a motivated governor in favor of business,” Richard Cortez, a county judge in Hidalgo County, Texas, said Monday. “What we no longer have is a home refuge mandate.”
Musk replied on Twitter: “The note is highly appreciated.”
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