President Trump tweets support for Elon Musk after he reopened Tesla plant against Alameda County order
ALAMEDA COUNTY, Calif. (KGO) -- President Trump took to Twitter on Tuesday morning to back Tesla CEO Elon Musk in his ongoing fight to reopen the Fremont electric car factory against Alameda County's coronavirus shelter-in-place order.
As Tesla employees were arriving to work Tuesday just before 7 a.m. local time, the president tweeted, "California should let Tesla & @Elonmusk open the plant, NOW. It can be done Fast & Safely!"
Musk tweeted that he reopened the plant Monday, saying that he would "be on the line with everyone else" and "if anyone is arrested, I ask that it only be me."
While Governor Gavin Newsom gave clearance for manufacturing to resume in California late last week, more restrictive health orders in Alameda County prohibit manufacturing until site-specific healthy and safety guidelines can be put in place.
Fremont police say that they currently have no plans to make any arrests or issue any citations for what would be a misdemeanor.
On Saturday, Musk filed a federal lawsuit against Alameda County looking for an injunction against the health order to allow the plan to resume activity.
RELATED: Elon Musk says Fremont Tesla plant restarting production against Alameda County rules
"Do you care about the people around you?" questioned a Tesla employee named Tina who spoke to ABC7 News confidentially out of fear of retaliation.
"You just want them (employees) to go, go, go. It as if in a sense we're just robots to him. If one breaks - 'I can get me a new one or I can fix them.'"
The employee returned to work on Saturday and said production resumed on the assembly line Monday, as confirmed in the tweet by Musk.
Tina said she's concerned about her safety. She expressed how it can be difficult to social distance on some parts of the line while doing a tandem job.
RELATED: Reaction still coming in after Elon Musk goes against Alameda County order, opens Tesla factory
The employee did say several new safety measure have been put in place like temperature checks before workers board Tesla shuttles into the factory, temperature checks before entering the facility, and face masks being provided to employees.
However, the plant is still operating outside of compliance with Alameda County health orders.
ABC7 News obtained a copy of the letter sent to the company by the county warning "Tesla is engaging in work beyond Minimum Basic Operations, and is in violation of the Health Officer Order. These activities must cease until the Health Officer approves Tesla's site-specific plan."
While some employees are skeptical about the return to work others are eager to earn a paycheck again and are grateful to be back.
"I'm happy to come back to work. I think they're very well prepared," said Tesla Employee Naveed Haque.
County officials have told them they are in active communication with the company.
Tuesday, the Alameda County Board of Supervisors discussed the pending lawsuit against the county.
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