Tesla allegedly planning to restart production, report says
An anonymous source claims Tesla is staffing back up for limited vehicle production in Fremont, California.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has made it abundantly clear how he feels about California's stringent shelter-in-place orders. And according to a report published Wednesday by the San Francisco Chronicle, Tesla's Fremont factory may be gearing up to restart production, at least on a limited basis.
The state of California ruled that Tesla's production of cars was nonessential and forced the plant to go idle. However, it kept going a week after it was supposed to shut down, even though the factory did eventually cease production.
Now, the Chronicle says the factory might be preparing to start back up, citing an anonymous source whom the report describes as "familiar with factory operations." Tesla didn't respond to the Chronicle's request for comment, or to a separate inquiry made by Roadshow.
While the factory is technically shut down, employees are working in Fremont to help maintain the facility and the machinery within, which is allowed under California's shelter-in-place orders. The Chronicle's source claims there has been an increase in staff to help get the factory ready to reopen as early as next week. Part of making the factory ready to reopen would likely involve putting new equipment and policies in place to help reduce the spread of COVID-19.
