According to a recent report, Elon Musk’s Tesla is planning to resume production at its facility in Fremont, California, potentially violating shelter-in-place orders.
The San Francisco Chronicle reports that electric car maker Tesla is preparing to restart car production at its factory in Fremont, California, potentially violating local and state shelter-in-place orders.
Workers reportedly returned to the Fremont plant on Wednesday to prepare for a reopening of some production lines between now and next week, a source familiar with factory operations told the SF Chronicle. The source stated that a handful of employees returned to the factory floor to prepare and that additional safety measures have been put in place to guard against Wuhan coronavirus transmission.
A spokesperson for the Fremont Police Department stated that there were no plans to visit the factor when informed by the SF Chronicle of reports of the partial return to work. Department spokesperson Geneva Bosques stated: “We’re all sort of in a little bit of a gray area,” referring to Governor Gavin Newsom’s announcement this week that some retail, manufacturing, and logistics businesses would be allowed to operate on a limited basis if safety measures were put in place and local authorities approve.
Bosques acknowledge that under the current Alameda County health order, Telsa has not been given permission to operate its manufacturing line but added that “having a small team of people in there (who) are social distancing may not violate the health order.”
The order for Tesla to shut down operations came from the sheriff’s office shortly after Tesla began to increase the production of its Model Y sport-utility vehicle at the California factory. Alameda is one of nine counties covered by a “shelter in place” order that limits activity, travel, and business function to only the essentials and advises individuals to stay at home except for the most important trips.
“Tesla is not an essential business as defined in the Alameda County Health Order. Tesla can maintain minimum basic operations per the Alameda County Health Order,” the spokesman said. The order states that non-essential businesses can only maintain minimum basic operations such as maintaining inventory value, ensuring security and processing payroll. Violations could result in a fine, imprisonment, or both.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship. Follow him on Twitter @LucasNolan or contact via secure email at the address lucasnolan@protonmail.com