Tesla told employees reporting to work Thursday that they would have their temperatures taken before coming into the electric carmaker’s Fremont plant amid a controversy over the company’s definition of what constitutes an essential business service during the shelter-in-place edict across Bay Area counties.
In an email sent Wednesday night to Tesla employees, and obtained by this news organization, Valerie Workman, Tesla’s human relations director said the company will be “handing out masks to be worn throughout the day, taking temperatures prior to entry, adding more hygiene stations inside the facility, rearranging operations to promote social distancing as much as possible, and increasing cleaning frequency of all work areas.”
Tesla has come under scrutiny for keeping its manufacturing plant open in Fremont during the three-week-long shelter-in-place order that is part of the effort to stop the spread of coronavirus across the Bay Area. That order, which covers Alameda County and other counties, allows businesses to operate only “essential” services until April 7.
Early Wednesday, Workman sent an email to Tesla employees saying they “should continue to report to work if you are in an essential function: production, service, deliveries, testing and supporting groups as discussed with your manager.”
However, Alameda County officials said Tesla’s car manufacturing operations didn’t constitute an essential business function that needed to be maintained during the shelter-in-place period. Companies like Tesla are allowed to keep staff on hand to oversee duties such as the maintenance of facilities, and payroll and other office responsibilities.
In her Wednesday night email, Workman wrote that Tesla has asked “only essential employees to report to work at our Bay Area locations,” and that the company is “continuing discussions with government officials and promise to let you know if anything changes.”
Tesla employs more than 10,000 people at its Fremont plant. The company has reportedly scaled down to 2,500 workers since the shelter-in-place decree went into effect on Tuesday, and has told its employees that they may stay home for any reason, including whether they feel ill or are just uncomfortable about coming to work.
According to a man who identified himself as a Tesla employee, on Wednesday it “felt like a normal day, at least at one of the lines which makes the (Model) Y.”
Tesla didn’t respond to a request for comment about its workforce and operations in Fremont.
Automakers Ford, General Motors and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles all said on Wednesday that starting Thursday, they will shut down their manufacturing operations until at least the end of March.
Meanwhile, Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk said on Twitter late Wednesday that Tesla and the other company he runs, SpaceX, would start making ventilators for individuals to use during the coronavirus crisis, if necessary.
There’s a shortage now, how many ventilators you making @elonmusk? https://t.co/hsaP9RMDZK
— Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) March 19, 2020
“We will make ventilators if there is a shortage,” Musk tweeted. Later, Musk added that, “Tesla makes cars with sophisticated hvac systems. SpaceX makes spacecraft with life support systems. Ventilators are not difficult, but cannot be produced instantly.”
