Tesla Begins Normal Operations at California’s Alameda County Plant and Nevada

  • Tesla has officially begun production at its factories at Nevada and California, including the controversial Fremont plant in Alameda County.
  • The company has also dropped its lawsuit against the county as operations restart in a phased manner.
  • Tesla has sent out an email to its employees listing out a new Attendance Policy and other safety measures to undertake before resuming work.

It seems like tesla‘s dispute with California’s Alameda County has drawn to a close as the company has gradually begun operations in its Fremont unit again. This came after a few days of hostility between Tesla and Alameda County, leading to Tesla filing a lawsuit with the local court. However, with Alameda County now officially allowing the reopening of tesla, the company has dropped its lawsuit against the county.

Meanwhile, tesla is eager to get its workers back to work. It is understood that some of them are still unwilling to get back to the plant fearing the coronavirus.

An internal employee email sent out by tesla’s HR team was accessed by CNBC. It read:

“Bay Area guidelines permit manufacturers to resume normal operations, and ease restrictions for retail, warehousing and other industries assuming all required safety precautions can be followed. This order, combined with the County’s prior approval of our Return to Work health and safety protocols, and improving health and safety data means California is getting back to work.”

The email also details the changes tesla has made to its Attendance Policy, wherein a worker who is unwilling to rejoin work due to fear of contracting the virus will have to sign and submit a form to tesla so they can receive unpaid leave until May 31. The company also adds that if an employee is advised to stay under quarantine, they are not required to come back to work.

Tesla Fremont

This is in the midst of one of the biggest auto industry shutdowns in recent memory, as tesla expects to ramp up production to boost its Q2 2020 results. Automakers like Ford are expected to report quarterly losses of up to $5 billion due to the coronavirus shutdown.

In a potential bid to get more customers to invest in the Full Self-Driving version of its vehicles before the end of Q2, Tesla recently announced that it will charge an additional $1,000 for such models starting July 1 this year.

Source: CNBC