Tesla has said they have begun the process of resuming work at the factory and have released a plan to do so, according to foreign media reports. Tesla is currently at odds with Alameda County, California, where the plant is located, over when to return to work, and although the governor of California allowed the state's manufacturing companies to return to work last week, the county's shutdown order does not allow Tesla to restart plant operations.

 

 

In a blog post titled Getting Back to Work, Tesla said: "Our restart plan comes after months of thoughtful consideration and preparation. The plan is modeled after the return to work process we completed at our Shanghai Superplant, which successfully completed a return to work and has achieved smooth, healthy production over the past three months."

 

Tesla workers will restart production of the Model 3, Model S and Model X models inside the Fremont plant this week. On Saturday, Tesla CEO Elon Musk had threatened to move Tesla out of California.

 

On Saturday, Tesla took Alameda County, California, to court, asking the court to rule that the county's stop-work order was invalid. Tesla said that California Governor Gavin Newsom had previously allowed manufacturing plants within the state to resume work, and that this decision should also apply to Tesla's Fremont plant.

 

The governor's recent guidance and Fremont's support for the plant, yet Alameda County insists we should not resume production," Tesla said. It's not for lack of trying or lack of transparency that we have met with Alameda County health authorities regarding plans to resume work."

 

Alameda County authorities did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

 

Each Tesla factory has developed a return-to-work plan and has assembled a response team that includes a physician. Tesla has developed health and safety guidelines based on the location of the plant and the level of risk associated with the specific job. In some cases, they have also set up partitions and barriers within the factory to minimise the intersection between employees.

 

Tesla's back-to-work plan also includes employee protection measures such as increased cleaning and disinfection in work areas, ensuring employees maintain adequate social distances and conducting temperature screenings at factory entrances, among other things. The company said, "We will take the time to train employees before they return to work, and all employees will be required to complete online video training before returning to work at Tesla factories."

 

Tesla will also be adjusting work shifts, reducing the number of people in the factory, and cutting shuttle bus utilisation in half. Tesla said they will provide workers with personal protective equipment and staff will provide contactless service in those areas where direct customer contact is required.

 

Those employees who can do their work from home will continue to work remotely from home. Those who need to do their work inside the factory will return to the factory. Employees who return to work at the factory will be required to complete a daily self-health test. Tesla's return-to-work programme stipulates that employees who develop symptoms will be sent home for isolation.