After a standoff with the Alameda County administration, including a Tesla court complaint, the threat of leaving California and the illegal reopening of the Fremont factory, Elon Musk won. Production can resume.
The past few weeks have been eventful for Elon Musk, and not just after the birth of his son, whose first name is inspired by a stealth plane. After having widely denied the seriousness of the Covid-19 pandemic, considering that confinement was a fascist measure and threatening to move Tesla’s headquarters outside of California, he illegally reopened the Fremont factory. It must be believed that all this paid off since the administration has just folded.
Factory reopened legally, but in reduced numbers
We told you about it 2 days ago, Elon Musk had taken the unilateral decision to reopen the Tesla factory in Fremont in Alameda county in California, despite the ban imposed by local authorities. The decision taken by the latter prevented any return to activity before June 1. Despite this, the CEO of Tesla had decided to restart production while declaring himself solely responsible in the event of legal proceedings.
The situation in the United States is different from that in, for say any European country, where decisions are centralized. In this federal country, each level of authority can oppose a decision taken at a higher level. Thus the county of Alameda had imposed stricter rules than those decided by the State of California. Tesla had therefore sued the county over the weekend. This paid off for the manufacturer.
In a press release issued yesterday, the county authorized the “minimal” reopening of the Fremont plant while giving directives to ensure the health safety of employees. The administration indicates that if Tesla implements these recommendations, including physical distancing, and if the public health indicators are good, then the factory will be authorized to reopen fully from May 18, 2 weeks after the first deconfinement measures.
