The parking lot was nearly full at Tesla’s Bay Area-based electric car factory Monday, an indication that the company could be resuming production in direct defiance of an order from county health officials.
The Alameda County Public Health Department deemed Tesla’s Fremont factory a nonessential business that can't yet reopen under restrictions related to the coronavirus. On Saturday, the company sued the department, seeking to overturn the order, and CEO Elon Musk threatened to move Tesla’s manufacturing and headquarters operations out of the state.
A statement posted by Tesla on its website Saturday night said the company “has started the process of resuming operations” and has safety procedures in place to protect workers, but didn’t say when manufacturing would begin.
Tesla contends in the lawsuit that the county can’t be more restrictive than orders from Gov. Gavin Newsom, which refer to federal guidelines classifying “vehicles and commercial ships manufacturing” as essential businesses.
“Frankly, this is the final straw,” Musk wrote in a now-deleted tweet. “Tesla will now move its HQ and future programs to Texas/Nevada immediately.”