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After Elon Musk sued local authorities in California and threatened to move Tesla’s headquarters to Texas or Nevada for attempts to contain the coronavirus outbreak, a Democratic state politician received a forceful message to the e-car tycoon: “F * ck Elon Musk”.
Lorena S Gonzalez of San Diego, who describes herself on Twitter as “Mom, Labor Leader-turned-Assemblyman from California [and] Progressive Latin Democrat “, tweeted the resounding reprimand on Saturday night, garnering predictable media attention. She did not immediately comment further.
Musk has been pushing to reopen the Tesla factory in Fremont, Northern California, but the Alameda County health department said the automaker should not reopen, because local blockade measures to curb the coronavirus remain in effect. .
Tesla filed a lawsuit against the county on Saturday, calling the county’s “takeover” restrictions as California Governor Gavin Newsom said Thursday that manufacturers in the state could reopen.
In the lawsuit filed in San Francisco federal court, Tesla said Alameda was against the federal and California constitutions, in addition to challenging the governor.
Alameda County will be closed until the end of May, and only essential businesses are allowed to reopen. In a statement Saturday, the county health department said it had been working with Tesla to develop a safety plan that would allow the Fremont plant to reopen while protecting workers.
“We hope to reach an agreement on an appropriate security plan very soon,” the statement said. But he also said that residents and businesses had made sacrifices to protect the health of people in the region.
“It is our collective responsibility to move through the reopening phases and loosen the shelter order restrictions in place as safely as possible, guided by data and science,” the department said.
Fremont Mayor Lily Mei said in a statement that she was increasingly concerned about the regional economy with no provisions for major manufacturing to resume.
“We know that many essential companies have demonstrated that they can successfully operate using strict security and social distancing practices,” the statement said.
Musk has been complaining about the stay-at-home order since his company’s first-quarter earnings were released in late April. He called for fascist restrictions and urged governments to stop taking away people’s freedom.
Saturday damned “The interim and elected and ignorant health officer of Alameda,” he said, “acting against the governor, the president, our constitutional freedoms and simply common sense.”
According to CNBC, the county official in question, Erica Pan, told an online city council on Friday that even though California had relaxed coronavirus restrictions, “if there are local orders, whatever is stricter prevails.”
CNBC reported that Pan “added that Alameda County, where the Fremont auto factory is located, is” a little bit stricter “than the state in its approach to protecting public health amid an outbreak of the new coronavirus.”
Pan reportedly said of Tesla: “We have not given the green light. We have been working with them looking at some of their security plans. But no, we have not said that it is appropriate to move forward. “
“Frankly, this is the last straw,” wrote Musk. “Tesla will now move its headquarters and future programs to Texas / Nevada immediately. If we even maintain Fremont’s manufacturing activity, it will be dependent[t] on how Tesla is treated in the future. Tesla is the last carmaker left in [California]. “
Musk also stated that “Tesla knows much more about what needs to be done to be safe through our experience at the Tesla factory in China than an interim (unelected) official in Alameda County.”
“I’m not playing”, the billionaire insisted. “Absurd [and] medically irrational behavior in violation of constitutional civil liberties, in addition by non-elected county officials without liability, must be stopped. ”
Legislators in Texas and Nevada were quick to express receptivity to any interest from Musk, who already plans to open a plant in Texas.
But a move would be costly at a time when lack of production in California is already hitting Tesla hard. In a note to investors, Wedbush Securities analyst Daniel Ives wrote: “Getting away from Fremont would take at least 12 to 18 months and, in the meantime, could add risks to the manufacturing and logistics process.”
Governor Newsom did not immediately comment.
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