--- title: "California Cops Say Tesla Factory Must Shut Down" description: "Area cops are telling Elon Musk's electric automaker Tesla that it must shut down operations at its Fremont factory location." date: "2020-03-18" modified: "2020-03-18" authors: - name: "Jon Christian" job_title: "Executive Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jonc" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/california-cops-tesla-factory-must-shut-down" categories: - "Advanced Transport" - "Tesla" tags: - "coronavirus" - "elon musk" - "tesla" - "the digest" --- # California Cops Say Tesla Factory Must Shut Down ![Area cops are telling Elon Musk's electric automaker Tesla that it must shut down operations at its Fremont factory location.]() *\Image: Tesla/Victor Tangermann\* ## I Fought the Law As the coronavirus tears through California, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has — thus far — [refused to shut down]() the electric automaker's Fremont factory in light of the global coronavirus pandemic. But now area cops are pushing back, [according to *Electrek*]() — setting up a potential showdown between Musk's company and the county sheriff. "Tesla is not an essential business as defined in the Alameda County Health Order," reads a statement from the Alameda County Sheriff's Office. "Tesla can maintain minimum basic operations per the Alameda County Health Order." ## And The Law Won Musk has [publicly downplayed]() the seriousness of the coronavirus outbreak, and echoed the same message in communications [with Tesla]() and [SpaceX staff](). His view contradicts that of most infectious disease experts, governments, and global health organizations — all of which currently advise taking sensible measures to minimize its spread, such as social distancing and frequent hand-washing, in order to avoid overloading hospital systems with sick patients. The news that the Alameda cops are moving to shut down operations at Tesla's California factory were met with a [sharp downturn]() in the company's stock price. **READ MORE:** [Sheriff: Tesla not an ‘essential business,’ factory must obey coronavirus shutdown order]() \[*Electrek*\] **More on Tesla:** [*As Coronavirus Rages, Elon Musk Refuses to Close Tesla Factory* ]() ## Author I'm responsible for editing, assigning, and scouting at Futurism, as well as occasionally writing for the site. That work involves keeping an eye on a wide range of narratives and issues, but over the past few years I've become increasingly interested in how AI is shaping the future of media, the web, and information itself. My day-to-day often involves collaborating on reporting and commentary projects bylined by my colleagues, but I try to find time to do my own reporting as well; stories I've broken for Futurism have been cited by publications including the New York Times, the Washington Post, the New Yorker, Wired, Ars Technica, New York Magazine, the Columbia Journalism Review, Bloomberg, and more. I grew up in Southern Vermont and attended Vanderbilt University. Prior to Futurism, I contributed to outlets including the Boston Globe, Vice, Wired, Slate, the Atlantic, the Outline, Ars Technica and more, and did stints in farming and food service. I currently live in Brooklyn, New York, and in my free time I enjoy pinball, word games, cycling, running, and music production. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()