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SAN FRANCISCO (REUTERS) – Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk tweeted on Saturday (May 9) that Tesla will move its headquarters and future programs to Texas or Nevada from California immediately.
“If we even maintain Fremont’s manufacturing activity, it will depend on how Tesla is treated in the future,” he wrote on Twitter, referring to facilities in the San Francisco Bay Area that is the only vehicle factory. Tesla in the US USA .
Musk also tweeted about suing Alameda County, California, after his health department said the electric car maker should not reopen the Fremont factory as local blockade measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus remain in effect.
Alameda County said Saturday that it has been working with Tesla to develop a safety plan that “allows the reopening while protecting the health and well-being of the thousands of employees” who work at the factory and hopes to reach an agreement on a security plan very soon.
Musk had told employees Thursday that limited production would restart in Fremont on Friday afternoon.
Tesla builds more than 415,000 cars per year at the Fremont plant, and moving the entire production facility would be a daunting task.
Wedbush analyst Dan Ives calculated on Saturday that the company could take 12-18 months to relocate production.
The threat to relocate the facility also comes as Tesla aims to boost Fremont production of its Model Y sports utility vehicle, the automaker’s most profitable vehicle to date.
California Governor Gavin Newsom had said Thursday that manufacturers in the state could reopen their doors.
But Alameda County, where the Fremont factory is located, will remain closed until the end of May and only essential businesses will be reopened.
A county official said Friday that his health department has had many conversations with the company and recommended that Tesla wait at least another week to monitor infection rates and discuss safe ways to resume production.
Musk, who argued with California officials in March about whether Tesla had to stop production in Fremont, criticized the shutdown and orders to stay home, calling them “serious risk” to American business and “unconstitutional.”
Tesla shares have risen 127 percent since March 18, their recent closing low, including a 16.8 percent gain in the last week of trading to close at $ 819.42 on Friday.
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