On May 18, Elon Musk sent out a Tweet after the parking lot of his Tesla plant was full of people and started making headlines. He said that he is willing to get arrested if necessary because he is going against the Alameda County rules.
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.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 11, 2020
As reported by Alameda County, they’re waiting for Tesla to give them a complete safety plan. They also mentioned that the company cannot fully resume its normal production until the plan has been sent out and approved. They also said that other companies like Tesla, which defied orders will comply without enforcement measures.
Back in March 2020, Tesla got into a tussle with the Alameda County for not following its decisions to shut down nonessential businesses. Elon Musk has been reported to behave erratically during the pandemic and has been constantly railing against shutdown plans. He has also been Tweeting about it and has received a lot of flak.
FREE AMERICA NOW
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 29, 2020
The constant tussle to resume work
On May 16, Elon Musk threatened to relocate his California plant out of the state due to the local shelter-in-place rules. It is obvious that alike all our nonessential businesses, even his production was stopped due to the lockdown.
The Alameda County officials stated that they were directly communicating and working closely with the Tesla team on their ground in Fremont. They want the collaboration to be in good faith and develop a safety plan. The reopening of the Tesla plant must ensure that workers will be in good health. Meanwhile, Musk sued the county and claimed that they don’t have a legal right to shut them down.
In the lawsuit, Tesla stated that an order from the governor of California superseded local health policies and under the order, Tesla should be given an allowance to open. Even on Twitter, he mentioned that Tesla’s reopening was an order approved by the state.
When asked about the Tesla plant, Governor Gavin Newsom said that he was unaware that the plant has been resumed. He also said that this dispute will be resolved “at the county level”.
Businesses reopening
Auto plants across the US are set to open this month. Some of them have already reopened since the first week of May. Companies like Ford, Fiat Chrysler, and General Motors reopened on May 18. The timelines of different auto sector reopening also depend on state orders.
It is pretty evident that right now our health and economy are both at risk. The US has been worst hit by the pandemic and every day people are losing lives. In such a scenario, it is very difficult to understand what people are going through. While a lot of people are against Elon Musk and his hasty decisions right now, it is true that the economy also has to be stabilized.