Tesla published Sunday a detailed plan to return its Fremont factory to production, despite objections from local officials about the automaker’s decision.
“Given the Governor’s recent guidance, which is supported by science and credible health data, the state and federal government’s classification of vehicle manufacturing as national critical infrastructure, and our robust safety plan, Tesla has started the process of resuming operations,” the blog post said. “Our employees are excited to get back to work, and we’re doing so with their health and safety in mind.”
Tesla planned to return to production on Friday, however Alameda County’s interim public health officer, Dr. Erica Pan said that Tesla must keep the plant closed until the county lifts restrictions in place to slow the spread of COVID-19.
Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk said on Twitter Saturday that the company plans to file a lawsuit against Alameda County over the health order and move its headquarters out of California.
“We will continue to put people back to work in a safe and responsible manner,” Tesla said in a blog post. “However, the County’s position left us no choice but to take legal action to ensure that Tesla and its employees can get back to work. We filed a lawsuit on May 9 asking the court to invalidate the County Orders, to the extent the County claims they prevent Tesla from resuming operations.”
The company listed eight efforts shared with city and county officials regarding the plan to keep workers safe:
Detailed health and safety restart plan with checklist and photos
Employee health and safety guidelines
Risk assessment process, including what we’ve done throughout the factory
Risk assessment improvements, including how we’ve identified and addressed high/medium/low risks
Temperature screening protocol plus a commitment to add temperature screening when we resume long-distance shuttle routes
Revised Fremont production restart plan
Factory layout with square footage to illustrate on how people are spread out across our 6 million square foot facility
Break room capacities (reduced for social distancing) and numbers of people in each room based on work area
Check out the full post here.
Photo: Tesla