Tesla chief Elon Musk has threatened to pull the company's headquarters out of California after local officials refused it permission to reopen.
California has started easing restrictions; however, Governor Gavin Newsom gave Bay Area countries permission to keep them in place while other parts of the state reopen.
The Alameda County Public Health Department (ACPHD) said on Friday that it had refused Tesla permission to reopen its electric vehicle plant.
The county’s lockdown - which came into force on 23 March and has been extended until the end of May - only permits essential businesses to operate.
The ACPHD said it had informed Tesla that it did not meet the conditions required.
“The Bay Area started with a higher disease burden than the rest of the state, which may mean tighter restrictions than the rest of the state for some time," it said.
“Restoring all daily activities too soon risks a rapid spike in cases and would jeopardise the relative stability we've seen in our health and hospital systems.”
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
On Twitter, Elon Musk said Tesla had filed a lawsuit against the county, accusing it of overstepping federal and state coronavirus guidelines.
“Frankly, this is the final straw,” He tweeted. “Tesla will now move its HQ and future programs to Texas/Nevada immediately.”
“Tesla is filing a lawsuit against Alameda County immediately.
“The unelected and ignorant ‘Interim Health Officer’ of Alameda is acting contrary to the governor, the president, our constitutional freedoms & just plain common sense.”
I’m not messing around. Absurd & medically irrational behavior in violation of constitutional civil liberties, moreover by *unelected* county officials with no accountability, needs to stop.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 9, 2020
Tesla had informed employees that it was restarting production along with competing carmakers across the US.
Toyota will restart production on Monday with General Motors, Ford and Fiat Chrysler all planning to follow suit gradually from 18 May.
More than 1.3 million confirmed cases and more than 78,000 deaths have been recorded in the US since the start of the outbreak.
