Why Elon Musk disobeyed government orders and reopened a Tesla factory

Elon Musk has long been critical of the government’s reaction to the coronavirus pandemic. | Ringo H.W. Chiu / AP Photo

Elon Musk thinks it’s okay for his Tesla factory to break the rules on reopening. Local officials disagree. Elon Musk has reopened Tesla’s factory in Fremont, California, pushing back against local public health officials who declined to give the company authorization to resume production. After previously doubting the severity of the Covid-19 pandemic, threatening to move Tesla’s headquarters out of California, and even filing a federal lawsuit, Musk has now volunteered to be the first one arrested for defying the county’s order, though that’s yet to happen.
“I will be on the line with everyone else,” the Tesla CEO tweeted on Monday afternoon. “If anyone is arrested, I ask that it only be me.”
On Monday, a local Alameda official wrote to Tesla ordering the company to cease production beyond minimum basic operations, according to the San Francisco Chronicle . But that doesn’t appear to have stopped the company’s work. Local news footage showed activity at the Tesla plant in Fremont not long after Musk’s tweets. In fact, one worker told the Chronicle that work had resumed even earlier. And in an email obtained by the Guardian , Tesla workers were told that if they choose not to return to work, they risk losing their unemployment benefits.
Tesla did not reply to Recode’s request for comment in time for publication.
This situation doesn’t bode well for several parties involved. How local officials, who maintain they’re still negotiating with Tesla on how to reopen safely, ultimately respond will reveal how much power they really have in enforcing social distancing and stay-at-home measures. After all, Tesla coming away unscathed could set a concerning precedent for local officials that will need to push back against influential companies eager to resume production and manufacturing.
Plenty of people have been caught violating rules instituted by the pandemic, and some — disproportionately black and brown people — have been arrested.
But Musk is quite literally one of the richest men alive and, thanks in part to his fervent fan base, seems to believe that Tesla will not be penalized, despite the order. In fact, he’s already warned that the manufacturing currently done in Fremont could potentially be moved elsewhere. After Musk encouraged his supporters to campaign on Tesla’s behalf, leaders in other states, including the governor of Texas , started encouraging Musk to move operations.
Given that Tesla employs some 10,000 people at the Fremont plant, California would undoubtedly prefer to keep those jobs in the state. And Musk has already picked up some other notable support. On Tuesday morning, President Donald Trump declared in a tweet that the state should allow Tesla to open the factory immediately, and adding “It can be...