Elon Musk goes against orders and reopens Tesla in California

Charlotte Eykerman and Nanor Pontigian Opinion Editor & Science and Tech Editor, The Pawprint

CEO of Tesla, Elon Musk has been continuing his argument with officials as he announced on 11th of May that he would be “restarting production today.” Elon Musk is going against Alameda County rules to be able to save his company. This would mean that all 10,000 employees have to go back to work as regular. 

These started with tweet outbursts from Musk objecting to follow lockdown protocols. On Monday, the 11th he said that he would be at the company, organizing his new plans. If the police would have come there, Elon Musk said, “If anyone had to be arrested, it should only be me.”

On Saturday, the company filed a lawsuit against Alameda County and threatened to relocate his company to California. The county officials announced that they were negotiating with Tesla, to reopen the plant. 

The Alameda County Public Health Department said, “We continue to move closer to an agreed upon safety plan for reopening beyond Minimum Basic Operations by working through steps that Tesla has agreed to adopt, these steps include improving employee health screening procedures and engaging front-line staff on their concerns and feedback regarding safety protocols.”

Elon Musk has been able to get support from the Trump Administration. Treasury Secretary, Steven Mnuchin, mentioned to CNBC that the Californian government should be working harder to reopen the economy. 

Gov. Gavin Newsom also praised Musk for his determination. He also mentioned that he expects the county to allow Tesla to reopen next week. 

Musk thanked Gov. Gavin Newsom, but has not commented on whether the county will allow him to reopen.