SACRAMENTO, Calif. _ Elon Musk says Tesla has reopened its Fremont, Calif., factory in a showdown with local health officials over coronavirus lockdown rules.
"Tesla is restarting production today against Alameda County rules," Musk wrote in a Twitter post Monday afternoon. "I will be on the line with everyone else. If anyone is arrested, I ask that it only be me."
The parking lot at the factory began filling up with vehicles Monday morning, KTVU reported, prompting speculation that Tesla had reopened against county orders.
Musk has been embroiled in a dispute with state and local officials over the closure of Tesla's factory in Fremont under lockdown orders intended to curb the spread of coronavirus.
Musk had posted to Twitter on Saturday to say he would "immediately" move his company's headquarters to Nevada or Texas over disputes about reopening the factory.
"Frankly, this is the final straw," Musk wrote. "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."
Gov. Gavin Newsom allowed manufacturers in California to reopen from a coronavirus lockdown on Friday, but Alameda County has extended a local shutdown order indefinitely, Business Insider reported.
Tesla's gigafactory in Fremont is located in Alameda County. In another Twitter post, Musk had said he was filing suit against Alameda County over the restrictions.
Alameda County health officials had said they were working closely with Tesla to safely reopen the Fremont factory, CNN Business reported.
"This has been a collaborative, good faith effort to develop and implement a safety plan that allows for reopening while protecting the health and well-being of the thousands of employees who travel to and from work at Tesla's factory," county officials said in a statement. "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."
"F--- Elon Musk," wrote Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, D-San Diego, on Twitter late Saturday night, in response to Musk's threat to leave the state.
"California has highly subsidized a company that has always disregarded worker safety & well-being, has engaged in union busting & bullies public servants," Gonzalez wrote in a follow-up tweet on Sunday. "I probably could've expressed my frustration in a less aggressive way. Of course, no one would've cared if I tweeted that."
More than 4.1 million cases of the COVID-19 virus have been confirmed worldwide with more than 284,000 deaths as of May 11, according to Johns Hopkins University. The United States has more than 1.3 million confirmed cases with more than 80,000 deaths.
The World Health Organization has declared coronavirus a global pandemic. In the United States, President Donald Trump has declared a national emergency.
