Tesla Receives County Approval To Restart Fremont Production A Week After Musk's Threats

Tesla Inc. TSLA has received approval from Alameda County officials to restart production at its Fremont factory this week, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Sunday.

What Happened

The county's interim health officer toured the site last week and approved its health and safety plan, Tesla's Vice President for Environment, Health, and Safety Laurie Shelby informed the employees, according to the Chronicle.

Shelby also told employees to perform self-health checks before coming back to work and stay home if they are feeling sick, the Chronicle noted.

The automaker's Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk had engaged the County officials in a public feud when he dubbed the restrictions imposed in the wake of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic "fascist."

Tesla also sued Alameda County earlier this month seeking to invalidate the shelter-in-place orders that require production at the company's primary electric vehicle manufacturing facility to remain shut, CNBC reported at the time.

Musk tweeted last week that the company was restarting production, going against the county orders, and risking arrest.

Alameda County officials asked Tesla to stop but later caved in, saying that the automaker can restart production as long as it takes safety precautions against COVID-19 spread.

Price Action

Tesla's shares closed 0.5% lower at $799.17 on Friday and were mostly unchanged in the after-hours session.

Image Credit: Courtesy of Tesla.com