Elon Musk aims to reopen the Fremont, California, Tesla factory on Friday afternoon. At 1 pm Friday, Alameda Regency told him no, saying it was not yet safe.
Tesla “cannot be reopened,” the county said in a statement. “Restoring all daily activities too quickly risks a rapid spike in cases and will jeopardize the relative stability that we have seen in our healthcare system and hospital.”
Musk’s plan to reopen is reported to be contingent revised statewide guide from Governor Gavin Newsom, whose administration eased restrictions on manufacturing Friday. But districts were allowed to impose more stringent rules.
The Six Bay Area, including Alameda, bans unimportant manufacturing in the extensive March 16 sequence. The order was slightly modified and extended to run at least until the end of May, but local restrictions on non-essential manufacturing remained.
Alameda County said on Friday that it told Tesla that the company was does not meet the criteria was established on May 4 to loosen the closure rules gradually, even though the county did not specify which criteria were not met.
When the county order is now in effect, Tesla cannot start making cars at the Fremont plant until May 31.
Musk has not yet welcomed public health orders related to coronavirus.
He opposed the original March 16 order until Fremont police urged his company to close the factory. The company argues that making electric vehicles is very important for national security, and making factories open several days before closing on March 23. In a call with stock analysts, he described residential orders intended to slow the spread of “fascist” outbreaks.
As of Friday, Alameda District has reported 1,897 cases of corona virus and 69 deaths.
The local police department is responsible for enforcing regional orders. A Fremont police spokesman said by email on Friday that “we have no official indication or complaint that they are producing vehicles today. … It is our hope that they will continue to obey health orders. “
Tesla wants to reopen the factory, which employs 10,000 people, most of them on leave. Although Tesla reported earnings in the first quarter of this year, analysts had expected gloomy results for the current quarter. The entire automotive industry in Indonesia bad way, with lots of showrooms closed and inventory piled up.
Lack of profit has not proven to be a problem at Tesla. Even though the company never made an annual profit, its shares remained high flyers, trading above $ 800 with a market value of around $ 150 billion, far higher than other car makers.
But cash is a problem.
Although Tesla reported $ 8 billion in cash at the end of March, it is unclear how much the company has now. When asked during an April 29 conference call with analysts about current cash balances, his chief financial officer refused to answer, and Musk launched a polemic about American freedom and “fascist” government orders.
The company opened a new factory in Shanghai in December, which should provide a little help. The factory has been churning out cars but has recently been closed for several days. Media in China report a lack of important auto parts. Tesla doesn’t respond to emails or phone calls asking for comments.
Cash generated through Shanghai production and sales in China may not be enough to meet the cash crisis. That’s because Tesla has borrowed more than $ 1 billion from Chinese banks and its agreement with Chinese officials prohibits it from sending cash to the US until the debt is paid.
