“We have not said that it’s appropriate to move forward,” Erica Pan, Alameda County’s health officer, said of Tesla on Friday during a web conference. The county said in an emailed statement that it informed the company it didn’t meet criteria to reopen.
Tesla aimed to restart the factory Friday afternoon, Musk told staff in an email seen by Bloomberg News. The CEO cited California Governor
What Musk didn’t mention in his memo was that Newsom also had said local authorities could remain more restrictive than the state. San Francisco Bay area counties including Alameda said they were leaving in place health orders that extend
Tesla representatives didn’t respond to requests for comment. Valerie Capers Workman, the carmaker’s head of North American human resources, told employees in a separate email that Tesla’s Fremont plant would start operations with 30% of normal headcount per shift. It’s unclear whether that level of staffing would be enough to allow the company to produce cars again.
“Production restart may not be until June,”
Earlier Defiance
Musk, 48, has
Another reason it’s unclear whether Tesla will be able to produce vehicles -- even if Alameda allows the company to reopen in Fremont -- is that its suppliers in other states aren’t able to operate yet.
In Michigan, Governor
Musk’s Cheer
Musk cheered Newson’s announcement in a reply to one of the governor’s Twitter posts on Thursday. But Alameda County said in a statement that its current health order takes precedence over Newsom’s guidance.
“We will continue to work with our community and business leaders to accomplish careful, measured progress that allows us to maintain our gains as we move forward to further reopening and better times ahead,” Alameda said in a joint statement issued by San Francisco Bay area counties and cities.
Tesla isn’t producing any vehicles worldwide after having
In a press conference Monday, Newsom said the state isn’t telling local governments that feel it’s too soon to reopen to modify their orders.
“For example, the Bay Area, Northern California, they have guidelines where they are a little more strict than these guidelines,” he said. “If they choose not to come into compliance with the state guidelines, they have that right.”
(An earlier version of this story corrected the timing of Newsom’s press conference in the 12th paragraph.)
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