Elon Musk threatens lawsuit to restart Tesla manufacturing during pandemic

Tesla will sue Alameda County to reopen its Fremont, California manufacturing facility and move its California headquarters, Chief Executive Elon Musk said on Saturday. He also threatened to stop manufacturing cars at the factory. This was the last step in months of fighting with the county for restrictions on car control Coronavirus pandemic.

Tesla closed the Fremont plant in March when the state and county tried to curb the spread of COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the coronavirus. California Governor Gavin Newsom announced plans Let some companies reopen Musk cheered on Friday. But Alameda County, where Fremont is located, said Tesla has no permission to start reopening the plant.

The struggle shows conflicting priorities in fighting the pandemic: restarting businesses can get people back to work, but relaxing restrictions on shelters poses risks to public health. According to COVID-19, more than 78,000 people in the United States and 277,000 people worldwide died from COVID-19 Figures compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

Musk who has problems with what he is called the corona virus “panic” is not pleased with his company’s restrictions on electric vehicle manufacturing. Tesla has just started production it is Model Y., a crossover network based on the earlier Model 3 sedan.

“Tesla immediately files a lawsuit against Alameda County. Alameda’s unelected and ignorant interim health officer violates the governor, the president, our constitutional freedoms, and common sense!” Musk said in a tweet.

“To be honest, this is the last straw,” added Musk another tweet. “Tesla will now move its headquarters and future programs to Texas / Nevada immediately. If we keep Fremont’s manufacturing operations at all, it will.” [depend] about how Tesla will be treated in the future. Tesla is the last automaker in California. “

Tesla and the Alameda health officer did not immediately respond to requests for comments.

The California Business Reopening Policy is a four-step plan. “We’re now in early phase 2, in retail (roadside and delivery only), related logistics and Manufacturing and major companies can open up, “said the state plan’s website on Friday. The plan offers one Provision so that the counties can move faster if they meet readiness criteria.

Alameda County and six other districts in the San Francisco Bay Area announced Thursday that they were “working to find ways to safely reopen more businesses and activities.”

“We appreciate that the governor realizes that California communities are affected differently by corona viruses and can make decisions locally.” the counties said in Thursday’s statement. “If a circular order differs from a state order in our current environment, the more restrictive order takes precedence.”