Tesla plans to call some workers back to its assembly plant in Fremont, California staring April 29th, despite a shelter-in-place order in the San Francisco Bay Area in effect through May 3rd, Bloomberg News reported.
Plant leaders sent messages to workers in the Fremont factory’s paint and stamping operations asking them to respond and confirm whether they plan to come to work, according to Bloomberg.
Tesla temporarily shut down its Fremont plant March 23rd but continued trying to convince local officials that the factory was an “essential business” that shouldn’t be subject to the shelter-in-place order. The company argued it should be categorized as “national critical infrastructure” under the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA).
The Fremont plant produces Tesla’s Model 3, Model S, Model X, and Model Y vehicles.
However, the Alameda County health officer determined that keeping the plant open was a public health risk, and Fremont police chief Kimberly Petersen told Tesla the rules would not be suspended for the Fremont facility.
A spokesperson for Fremont police said in an email to The Verge on Sunday that the health order was still in effect. Violation of the order is a misdemeanor which could carry a fine or imprisonment.
Several other automakers are looking to restart production in early May. Ford said on Sunday it was recalling a small crew of workers Monday to prep factories to reopen, the Detroit Free Press reported, but did not say which sites or how many workers were involved. The Freep reported that the callbacks were voluntary, meaning workers would be paid if they worked but would not be required to do so.
GM still has not announced an official reopening date. The United Auto Workers union says for its members, it believes opening in early May is “too soon and too risky.” Ford and GM are union shops, Tesla is not.
Tesla did not respond to a request for comment from The Verge on Sunday.
UPDATED April 26th 4:50PM ET: Added comment from Fremont official and details about Ford recalling some workers.
