Tesla and Elon Musk had hoped to re-open the Fremont factory on Friday, only to be told by Alameda County that they were not allowed to despite direction from the governor of California they were allowed to do so.
Early this morning Musk got some high-powered support from the US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin during on appearance on CNBC. During his interview, Mnuchin said instead of ordering Tesla to remain shutdown until at least June, California should be helping Tesla reopen as quickly as possible.
“I agree with Elon Musk. He’s one of the biggest employers and manufacturers in California, and California should prioritize doing whatever they need to do to solve those health issues so that he can open quickly and safely.”
The prolonged forced closure was apparently the last straw for Musk. Over the weekend he announced Tesla would be leaving California as quickly as possible and would be filing a lawsuit against Alameda County, asking for the orders to thrown out, allowing Tesla to re-open.
Tesla shares (TSLA) opened down nearly 20 points from Friday’s close, but has regained most of that loss in morning trading.
