Tesla and other manufacturers have been exempted from the new curfew in California as the state tries to slow the spread of coronavirus, Reuters reports.
It was a relief to Tesla employees, and during the first lockdown in March, the company struggled tooth and nail to stay open before closing and then reopening earlier than scheduled – legal conflicts and all.
The exception will continue to humiliate Tesla’s car plant in Fremont, as businesses must close by 10 p.m. Closed every night and the next day until 5 p.m.
COVID-19 infections are socializing people like the cold weather sets in across the country, and state and local governments are once again working to find a balance between protecting public health and sustaining their economies.
There is one exception to the curfew rule that applies to most counties in California: counties can impose harsher measures.
In Almeida County, where the Tesla plant is located, authorities may enact stricter rules to shut down manufacturing. There are no indications yet that the county will, but if so, we could see Tesla push back one last time.
After six weeks of idle time, Tesla CEO Elon Musk reopened the Fremont facility in May, before giving the green light to restart county production and bring employees back to work.
Musk said he was ready to be arrested and threatened to move all of Tesla’s operations from California to another state in the process. The automaker and the county eventually agreed to a compromise, which was the official OK for the carmaker to resume all business operations.
