Tesla Factory Restarts against Orders as Elon Musk Says They Can Arrest Him

• After filing suit against Alameda County, Tesla’s Fremont, California, factory parking lot is seen filled with cars on Monday.
• Local TV station KTVU reported that an employee called them and said that safety measures were not being followed in the plant.
• Tesla was working with Alameda County to reopen on May 18, according to a county supervisor.

Tesla plant on the afternoon of May 11, 2020.

Roberto BaldwinCar and Driver

Tesla appears to have more than essential employees at its Fremont factory, from the look of the parking lot. This is after the company filed suit against Alameda County on May 9, stating in the filing, “The County is making rules that directly contradict and undermine the policy announced by the Governor in his Orders.” Elon Musk tweeted on Monday afternoon that he will “be on the line with everyone else” in the restarted plant and said, “If anyone is arrested, I ask that it only be me.”

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Local Bay Area TV station KTVU aired footage of the parking lot, which looks at least partly full. The station also reports that a Tesla factory employee called the station to report that they had been working since Sunday at 6 p.m., that production was “up and running,” and that it was their opinion that health guidelines were not being followed.

The Verge has learned from two current employees that the facility has already produced 200 vehicles over the weekend.

Musk tweeted on Monday, calling the situation “super messed up” and claiming that Tesla has been singled out for worse treatment than other automakers.

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This is after CEO Elon Musk tweeted on Saturday that Tesla would sue the county and that the company would move its headquarters (which is in Santa Clara County) to Texas or Nevada. He also said, “If we even retain Fremont manufacturing activity at all, it will be dependent on how Tesla is treated in the future.” It would be more of a challenge to move manufacturing to another state than to move its headquarters, considering the amount of investment Tesla has in the Fremont factory and that it’s the largest producer of Tesla vehicles at this time.

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Alameda County replied that it is working with Tesla on a “collaborative, good-faith effort to develop and implement a safety plan.” Alameda County supervisor Scott Haggerty told the New York Times, “We were working on a lot of policies and procedures to help operate that plant and quite frankly, I think Tesla did a pretty good job, and that’s why I had it to the point where on May 18, Tesla would have opened.” He continued, “I know Elon knew that. But he wanted it this week.”

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Alameda County replied this morning to queries about the Fremont factory’s potential restart of manufacturing over the weekend with the same statement it issued on May 9: “The team at Tesla has been responsive to our guidance and recommendations, and we look forward to coming to an agreement on an appropriate safety plan very soon.”

Tesla issued a Getting Back to Work post also on May 9 that details how the company is working to restart production in a safe manner and touting what it learned bringing its Shanghai factory back online after shutdown orders were lifted in that region of China.

It also includes added partitions for separate work areas and “rigorous cleaning and disinfecting protocols,” although the call by an employee to KTVU, if proved accurate, could mean those are not sufficient or only that they’re being followed in that one person’s opinion.