Tesla, citing "conflicting guidance from different levels of government" on how to handle the coronavirus pandemic, on Wednesday ordered production employees at its Fremont, Calif., car-manufacturing plant to continue coming to work.
In an email sent at 8:49 a.m., Tesla human resources head Valerie Capers Workman said, "There are no changes in your normal assignment and you should continue to report for work if you are in an essential function" which she said include "production, service, deliveries, testing and supporting groups." Sick workers could stay home and use their accumulated paid time off, she said.
Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk had kept the plant _ which employs about 10,000 people building the electric Model 3, Model S, Model X and the latest Model Y _ running Tuesday despite a multicounty San Francisco Bay Area lockdown order. Musk minimized what he called "panic" reaction to the virus on Twitter and in an email Monday night.
Sources within Alameda County government told The Times that the county Board of Supervisors was meeting via conference call Wednesday morning to discuss the Tesla situation.
Workman didn't detail conflicting government guidance, but in an email to employees early Tuesday morning, she said "the federal government has directed that all National Critical Infrastructure continue to operate during this global pandemic," which she said covers "business sectors crucial to the economic prosperity and continuity of the United States." That includes auto manufacturing, she said, but didn't include a source.
"People need access to transportation and energy, and we are essential to providing it," she wrote.
If Tesla received any direct orders or specific exemption from the federal government, Workman did not mention it. Neither Workman nor Tesla's media relations department responded to requests for comment.
In his Monday email, Musk said, "My frank opinion is that the harm from the coronavirus panic far exceeds that of the virus itself," and he said that COVID-19 cases "will not exceed 0.1% of the population."
"I will personally be at work, but that's just me," he wrote, and ended the email with, "I'd rather you were at home and not stressed, than at work and worried."
Thousands of workers streamed into the factory Tuesday, many arriving by bus. More than a dozen employees sent message to The Times complaining about Tesla's failure to comply with the lockdown order. Several said they feared catching the virus and spreading it to family but also feared losing their jobs if they stayed home.
Tesla's stock price was down as much as 18% Wednesday in midday trading, and is now down 60% from its mid-February high.
Tesla has a second factory in Shanghai, China, which has reopened after a coronavirus shutdown. But the pandemic has caused a crippling hit to auto sales in China, the world's largest auto market, where overall sales were down 80% in February from the same month a year ago.
