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California officials say they’ve reached a truce with Tesla over the company’s efforts to restart its Bay Area factory in spite of the coronavirus crisis. Alameda County’s Public Health Department agreed that Tesla can ramp up operations at its Fremont car plant this week and fully reopen as soon as Monday if it takes sufficient …
California officials say they’ve reached a truce with Tesla over the company’s efforts to restart its Bay Area factory in spite of the coronavirus crisis.
Alameda County’s Public Health Department agreed that Tesla can ramp up operations at its Fremont car plant this week and fully reopen as soon as Monday if it takes sufficient steps to protect workers from the virus, officials said late Tuesday.
The announcement marked a detente in the tense dispute over the factory, where the electric-car maker restarted production Monday in defiance of a lockdown order aimed at controlling the coronavirus.
But the county will only let the factory reopen if Tesla makes recommended updates to its safety plan for the site and if public health indicators “remain stable or improve,” according to a news release.
“We will be working with the Fremont Police Department to verify Tesla is adhering to physical distancing and that agreed upon health and safety measures are in place for the safety of their workers as they prepare for full production,” the county said.
Tesla did not immediately respond to a Wednesday morning email asking how it would change its current operations at the factory in response to the county’s latest guidance.
The deal came after Tesla chief Elon Musk hammered Alameda County for trying to keep the factory closed even after California Gov. Gavin Newsom allowed manufacturers to reopen. President Trump tweeted his support for Tesla on Tuesday after the company sued the county over the weekend.
Musk said he was willing to be arrested Monday as the factory restarted production. The outspoken billionaire — who has called coronavirus lockdowns “fascist” — has also threatened to move Tesla’s headquarters to Texas or Nevada amid the California spat.
To that end, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said Musk told him he was interested in moving Tesla to the Lone Star State. SpaceX, Musk’s rocket company, already has a launch site and a development facility in Texas, and Musk previously teased the idea of building a Tesla “Gigafactory” there.
“He’s genuinely interested in Texas and genuinely frustrated with California,” Abbott told a local CBS affiliate on Tuesday. “Texas would be a perfect location for Tesla to come to.”
