Tesla boss Musk threatens to quit California over lockdown rules
TESLA CEO Elon Musk has threatened to pull the company’s factory and headquarters out of California in a spat with local officials who have stopped the company from reopening its electric vehicle factory.
On Twitter, Mr Musk also threatened to sue over Alameda County Health Department coronavirus restrictions that have stopped Tesla from restarting production at its factory in Fremont, south of San Francisco.
“Frankly, this is the final straw,” he tweeted. “Tesla will now move its HQ and future programmes to Texas/ Nevada immediately.”
He wrote that whether the company keeps any manufacturing in Fremont depends on how Tesla is treated in the future.
Mr Musk has been ranting about the stay-at-home order since the company’s April 29 first-quarter earnings were released, calling the restrictions fascist and urging governments to stop taking people’s freedom.
An order in the six-county San Francisco Bay Area forced Tesla to close the Fremont plant on March 23 to help prevent the virus’s spread, and it was extended until the end of May.
Public health experts say the orders have reduced the number of coronavirus cases nationwide.
California governor Gavin Newsom allowed the Bay Area counties to continue restrictions while easing them in other areas of the state.
On Friday, the Alameda County Public Health Department said it told Tesla it did not meet conditions for a business to reopen. “The Bay Area started with a higher disease burden than the rest of the state, which may mean tighter restrictions than the rest of the state.”