- Tesla has filed a lawsuit against Alameda County in California, where the company’s Fremont factory is based.
- The factory has been shut since March 23 after Alameda County ordered it to shut down as part of social distancing measures aimed at curbing the spread of COVID-19.
- In the lawsuit, Tesla alleges the shutdown ignores an earlier order from California’s governor that permits businesses in “16 crucial infrastructure industries”, including transportation, to continue work.
- Tesla’s CEO, Elon Musk, has threatened to move the automaker’s headquarters to Texas or Nevada as a result of the shutdown.
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Tesla has filed a lawsuit against Alameda County in California, where Tesla’s Fremont factory is based.
The factory has been shut since March 23 after Alameda County ordered it to shut down as part of social distancing measures aimed at curbing the spread of COVID-19.
In the lawsuit, Tesla alleged the shutdown ignores an earlier order from California’s governor Gavin Newsom that permits businesses in “16 crucial infrastructure industries”, including transportation, to continue work. It describes the decision as both unconstitutional and “inexplicable” and says there is “no rational basis” for the facility’s closure.
The firm is hoping for an injunction that would render the shutdown order invalid.
Tesla’s CEO, Elon Musk, has threatened to move the automaker’s headquarters to Texas or Nevada as a result of the shutdown.
In an angry tweet Saturday, since deleted, he wrote: “Frankly, this is the final straw. Tesla will now move its HQ and future programs to Texas/Nevada immediately. If we even retain Fremont manufacturing activity at all, it will be dependen[t] on how Tesla is treated in the future. Tesla is the last carmaker left in CA.”
For its part, Alameda County says it has been engaged in what it calls a “collaborative, good-faith effort to develop and implement a safety plan that allows for reopening” of the Fremont factory.
Adding fuel to the flames, California State Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez tweeted “F— Elon Musk” on Saturday night, hours after Musk’s threat to decamp for Texas or Nevada.
In a blog post, Tesla said it had handed over detailed information to county officials about how it might get employees back to work safely, to no avail.
The firm wrote: “We will continue to put people back to work in a safe and responsible manner.
“However, the County’s position left us no choice but to take legal action to ensure that Tesla and its employees can get back to work. We filed a lawsuit on May 9 asking the court to invalidate the County Orders, to the extent the County claims they prevent Tesla from resuming operations.
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