A California legislator had a profane response after Tesla chief Elon Musk threatened to move his company out of state in a spat over coronavirus lockdowns.
“F–ck Elon Musk,” wrote Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, D-San Diego, on Twitter late Saturday night.
“California has highly subsidized a company that has always disregarded worker safety & well-being, has engaged in union busting & bullies public servants,” wrote Gonzalez in a follow-up tweet on Sunday. “I probably could’ve expressed my frustration in a less aggressive way. Of course, no one would’ve cared if I tweeted that.”
Musk had posted to Twitter earlier Saturday to say he would “immediately” move his company’s headquarters to Nevada or Texas over disputes about reopening a factory in Fremont.
“Frankly, this is the final straw,” Musk wrote. “Tesla will now move its HQ and future programs to Texas/Nevada immediately. If we even retain Fremont manufacturing activity at all, it will be dependent on how Tesla is treated in the future. Tesla is the last carmaker left in CA.”
Gov. Gavin Newsom allowed manufacturers in California to reopen from a coronavirus lockdown on Friday, but Alameda County has extended a local shutdown order indefinitely, Business Insider reported.
Tesla’s gigafactory in Fremont is located in Alameda County. In another Twitter post, Musk had said he was filing suit against Alameda County over the restrictions.
The company had earlier resisted shutdown orders before closing the factory March 23, Newsweek reported.
The Twitter post by Gonzalez had received more than 19,000 likes as of Sunday morning. Other public officials, including the mayor of Palo Alto, rushed to reassure Musk that he was valued.
“I would be really sad and disappointed if @Tesla left @cityofpaloalto, and stand ready to help,” wrote Adrian Fine on Twitter. “I truly appreciate having a cutting edge company based here, employing people, paying taxes, and helping to solve the climate crisis. Happy to help.”
Alameda County health officials say they have been working closely with Tesla to safely reopen the Fremont factory, CNN Business reported.
“This has been a collaborative, good faith effort to develop and implement a safety plan that allows for reopening while protecting the health and well-being of the thousands of employees who travel to and from work at Tesla’s factory,” county officials said in a statement. “The team at Tesla has been responsive to our guidance and recommendations, and we look forward to coming to an agreement on an appropriate safety plan very soon.”
Texas officials rolled out the welcome mat for Musk, CNN Businesss reported.
“Come to Texas!” wrote Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, on Twitter. “We would welcome Tesla HQ in Texas. We love jobs & Texans very much want to open up & get back to work (while still staying safe & following sound science). We make lots of cars & trucks in Texas, and we’d love more!!”
Musk and his girlfriend, singer Grimes, recently had a baby, whom they have reportedly named X ‘ A-12, Entertainment Tonight reported.
More than 4 million cases of the COVID-19 virus have been confirmed worldwide with more than 279,000 deaths as of May 10, according to Johns Hopkins University. The United States has more than 1.3 million confirmed cases with more than 78,000 deaths.
The World Health Organization declared coronavirus a global pandemic. In the United States, President Donald Trump has declared a national emergency.
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