Tesla defies order, restarts factory
Musk says plant operating despite county shutdown
Workers are building cars again at Tesla’s Fremont factory in defiance of Alameda County’s shelterinplace orders during the coronavirus pandemic, according to a Tesla employee.
Some production lines for the Model 3 car began operating this weekend, according to the worker, who did not want to be named for fear of retaliation. More production lines will be churning out other types of electric vehicles as soon as Tuesday, the source said. A factory parking lot was nearly full on Monday.
The person was granted anonymity in accordance with The Chronicle’s anonymous source policy.
Tesla said on its website on Saturday that it “has started the process of resuming operations.” The company did not respond to an emailed request for comment and has not responded to emails sent from The Chronicle since March. The massive factory has over 10,000 workers during normal operations.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk said on Twitter on Monday that “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.”
Some workers returned to the factory on Wednesday, The Chron
icle previously reported, to prepare for a return to work ahead of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s announcement Friday that some businesses, including manufacturing, could return to limited operations. Newsom said that local jurisdictions could impose greater restrictions.
Newsom said on Monday’s news conference that he wasn’t aware of the factory’s reopening, but reiterated that counties can be more restrictive than the state’s order. He said Alameda County officials are working with Tesla.
“My understanding is they have had some very constructive conversations with the folks at that facility — the county health director — and they’re working to focus on the health and safety of the employees at that facility,” Newsom said. “My belief and hope and expectation is as early as next week they will be able to resume.”
Alameda County spokesman Sgt. Ray Kelly referred questions about the plant to the Alameda County Public Health Department, which issued the shelterinplace order.
The county said in a press release Monday that it is aware Tesla is moving beyond basic operations allowed during the shelterinplace period, but did not appear poised to stop the production lines Monday.
“We are addressing this matter using the same phased approach we use for other businesses which have violated the order in the past, and we hope that Tesla will likewise comply without further enforcement measures,” The county has been working with Tesla on a reopening plan according to the statement, which said county officials expect to receive a plan for reopening the factory in compliance with state rules later Monday.
Tesla said on its website that it will increase cleaning on the production lines and check employees for fevers, a telltale sign of the virus, with a plan to send anyone home who has an elevated temperature.
The company plans to distribute more protective equipment like masks and make hand sanitizer more readily available throughout the facility while enforcing social distancing, among other measures.
The plan did not make mention of how Tesla would handle testing and contact tracing if a case of the coronavirus did emerge at the plant.
The Tesla worker said production would be slowed on some lines to allow fewer workers to perform tasks more slowly that multiple workers previously did more quickly in order to allow for social distancing.
In emails previously obtained by The Chronicle, top human resources executive Valerie Workman and Musk have said workers who do not feel safe returning to work do not have to.
The worker also said employees would be allowed to take unpaid time off commensurate with the amount of vacation time they had accrued before workers were furloughed in March, a policy that couldn’t immediately be verified.
Alameda County’s refusal to allow the reopening prompted Tesla to file a federal lawsuit on Saturday saying the state’s orders supersede those of the county. Musk also posted on Twitter that he would move the company’s headquarters out of California to Nevada or Texas.
Newsom said that he was “confident” that California would continue to support Tesla and he looked forward to many more decades of working with the company. Newsom said he spoke to Musk a few days ago.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has said he agrees with Musk and that the state should do whatever is necessary to solve health concerns at the plant.
Musk previously railed against business closures to guard against transmission of the coronavirus as “fascist” during a call with investors.