Tesla Drops Lawsuit Against Alameda County
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Electric carmaker Tesla dropped a federal lawsuit against Alameda County filed less than two weeks ago after resuming manufacturing at its Fremont plant against local orders.
Tesla sued to reopen its factory May 9 and also resumed operations around then. County officials approved a safety plan for the factory to reopen this week.
Lawyers for Tesla filed the dismissal May 20 and did not respond to an emailed request for comment. No reason for the dismissal was given.
Alameda County Counsel Donna Ziegler did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Tesla took legal action during an escalating battle between CEO Elon Musk and Alameda County over whether the company could continue making cars after being forced to shutter in March under shelter-in-place orders.
Musk repeatedly railed against shutdown orders on Twitter and on an earnings call. He continued to operate the plant in March for days after being ordered to close before sending employees home with pay.
Workers across the company were furloughed in April with some seeing pay cuts as well, with more than 11,083 Fremont employees temporarily out of work, according to state filings.
Musk moved to restart production lines in early May as Gov. Gavin Newsom began loosening restrictions on which businesses could operate, including manufacturing. Alameda County health officials said at the time their orders remained unchanged, however, prompting Musk to file the lawsuit.
“Tesla is restarting production today against Alameda County rules. I will be on the line with everyone else. If anyone is arrested, I ask that it only be me,” he wrote on Twitter after filing the suit. Tesla does not appear to have been penalized for reopening before its safety plan was approved.
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