Tesla has threatened to move its headquarters to Texas or Nevada, and stop manufacture electric cars in California, as part of an escalating battle with local authorities that has also seen it file a federal court lawsuit in a bid to restart manufacturing in Fremont in the midst of shelter-at-home orders.
CEO and co-founder Elon Musk tweeted on Sunday morning (Australian time) that “Tesla is filing a lawsuit against Alameda County immediately. The unelected & ignorant “Interim Health Officer” of Alameda is acting contrary to the Governor, the President, our Constitutional freedoms & just plain common sense!
It followed news that Alameda would not allow the Fremont plant to reopen despite a state move to allow such activites to resume. Musk wants to resume Model 3 and Model Y production as soon as he can.
“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 dependent on how Tesla is treated in the future. Tesla is the last carmaker left in CA,” he said.
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 on how Tesla is treated in the future. Tesla is the last carmaker left in CA.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 9, 2020
Musk had earlier welcomed news tweeted by the governor of California, Gavin Newsome, that certain restrictions put in place to reduce the risk of spreading the novel Coronavirus would be lifted on Friday.
For Tesla, which has furloughed half of its staff and been prevented from producing its popular Model 3 and Model Y electric cars since March, it was a positive moment.
The electric car company released a statement on Saturday (US time) outlining its plans for a reopening.
“We understand the impacts COVID-19 has caused and have a responsibility to look out for the livelihoods and safety of our personnel, many of whom rely on us and have been out of work for weeks due to the impacts of shelter-in-place orders,” Tesla wrote.
“Our restart plan is the result of months of careful planning and preparation. It was modeled after the comprehensive return to work plan we established at our Shanghai Gigafactory, which has seen smooth and healthy operations for the last three months.
“We are taking the time we need to get our personnel properly trained before they begin work and all employees must complete an online video training before returning to work at any Tesla facility.”
However, that was quickly stifled by news that Alameda County interim health officer, Erica Pan, said in an online town hall meeting on Friday that Tesla was “not given the green light” to reopen, as reported by CNBC.
The whole thing escalated from there: Musk threatened to sue Alameda, and move headquarters to Texas, prompting an official statement of support from Fremont mayor Lily Mei for Tesla, saying, “As the local shelter-in-place order continues without provisions for major manufacturing activity, such as Tesla, to resume, I am growing concerned about the potential implications for our regional economy.
“We know many essential businesses have proven they can successfully operate using strict safety and social distancing practices. I strongly believe these same practices could be possible for other manufacturing businesses, especially those that are so critical to our employment base.
“The City encourages the County to engage with our local businesses to come up with acceptable guidelines for re-opening our local economy. As we have done for over a decade, the City is prepared to support Tesla as soon as they are able to resume automobile manufacturing operations and are committed to a thoughtful, balanced approach to this effort that remains safe for our Fremont community.”
This is the statement I issued today regarding Tesla. https://t.co/IVFmDnfclY
— Lily Mei (@LilyMei4Fremont) May 9, 2020
The governor of Texas Greg Abbott on the other hand simply responded with a retweet of Musk’s “final straw” tweet adding an eyes wide open emoji; clearly, the prospect of jobs for Texans would be warmly welcomed by the southern state.
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) May 9, 2020
The entirety of the lawsuit can be read via this link.
In short, Tesla says that Alameda County, which reportedly contradicted state orders that Tesla is regarded as “critical infrastructure” and forced Tesla to shutdown, does not have the lawful jurisdiction to overstep state Covid-19 orders, or to enact legal action including jail time and significant fines to individuals that do not comply with county orders.
Alameda’s county public health department issued its own statement via Twitter saying it is working with Tesla and is looking forward to developing a safety plan for reopening “very soon”.
@AlamedaCounty statement on Tesla: The Alameda County Health Care Services Agency and the Public Health Department have been communicating directly and working closely with the Tesla team on the ground in Fremont. This has been a collaborative, good faith effort to develop and pic.twitter.com/lQ4HNhf7Kr
— Alameda County Public Health Department (@Dare2BWell) May 9, 2020
Most recently, Musk has taken again to Twitter to confirm that the summary of the situation by Tesla podcasters Third Row Tesla (TRT) cover the situation “perfectly”.
To repeat the summary as described by the TRT team:
1. As local officials scrambled to protect Californians, the state stepped in to ensure the response was clear, uniform, and coordinated using state-wide regulations.
2. When the governor issued the “Stay at Home” order it said the statewide policy would be that federal “critical infrastructure” like the Tesla factory would be allowed to continue operating.
3. This was not a baseline, it was meant to keep essential functions running.
4. Nevertheless, Alameda county decided that it would insist that its conflicting pronouncements controlled over the state-wide order. Alameda County arrogated to itself the power to force closure of businesses that the state government said could remain open.
5. Inexplicably, Alameda County said Tesla must shut down even though their own FAQ describes the Fremont factory as essential and permitted:
6. The county has asserted that violations of its orders carry criminal penalties, even though it lacks statutory or legal authority to do so. It has threatened jail time and significant fines for businesses that do not comply, even when authorized by the state to continue.
7. Alameda County isn’t using their authority to “supplement” the state baseline as described in the May 4 order. They are making rules that directly contradict and undermine the policy announced by the Governor.
8. Alameda County’s power grab not only defines the Governor’s order but also the federal and California constitutions. It violated the Due Process Clause of the 14th amendment and
9. It violates the equal protection clause of the 14th amendment as well
10. On top of that, the California constitution says that counties can’t make laws that conflict with state or federal laws
This thread summarizes situation perfectly
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 11, 2020
Bridie Schmidt is associate editor for The Driven, sister site of Renew Economy. She has been writing about electric vehicles since 2018, and has a keen interest in the role that zero-emissions transport has to play in sustainability. She has participated in podcasts such as Download This Show with Marc Fennell and Shirtloads of Science with Karl Kruszelnicki and is co-organiser of the Northern Rivers Electric Vehicle Forum. Bridie also owns a Tesla Model Y and has it available for hire on evee.com.au.