Elon Musk reopens Tesla factory in defiance of lockdown rules
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Tesla’s chief executive Elon Musk has said that the electric car firm will restart production at its factory in California despite an order forcing it to remain closed.
In a tweet last night, Musk said that if anyone had to be arrested over the decision, it should be him:
“Tesla is restarting production today against Alameda County rules. I will be on the line with everyone else. If anyone is arrested, I ask that it only be me”, he wrote.
Over the weekend, the billionaire businessman had threatened to move Tesla’s US operations from California to Texas or Nevada due to working restrictions.
Health officials in Aladema County, where Tesla’s factory is based, have told the company it cannot operate without a county-approved plan.
In an email to staff seen by Reuters, Musk referred to an order by California’s governor Gavin Newsom telling manufacturers to resume production.
Musk tweeted that the county had “illegally overridden” California’s decision.
The email said that as of Sunday, employees who had been on furlough were now returned to full employment status.
Aladema County authorities released a statement saying they hoped Tesla would comply with regulations “without further enforcement measures”.
According to its lockdown orders, breaches can be punished by fine, imprisonment or both.
Officials from number of states, including Texas, Utah, Nevada, Georgia and Oklahoma have used Twitter to try and encourage Musk to relocate after his threats over the weekend.
The billionaire has spoken in the past about the possibility of opening another factory outside of California in the past.
But California governor Newsom said he had spoken to Musk and the billionaire’s concerns had played a role in prompting the state’s reopening of manufacturing.
US treasury secretary Steve Mnuchin also said that California should do whatever was necessary to help Tesla reopen or risk losing the business to another state.