Maxxd.com

Tesla officially has a new Head of Production at its Fremont manufacturing plant in Northern California: Richard Miller.

An email from Tesla that was recently sent to company employees announced Richard Miller’s promotion from Head of Paint Operations to Overall Head of Production at Fremont on Monday, May 11, TechCrunch reported. The internal communication cited Miller’s impressive performance in his prior role as one of the reasons behind his promotion.

The internal email stated, “Due to excellent performance as head of paint operations in Fremont, Richard Miller is hereby promoted to overall head of Fremont Production. Congratulations!”

The role was previously filled by Jatinder Dhillon, who left the company in March, according to a report from CNBC.

The change in leadership comes at a rather turbulent time for Tesla’s Fremont factory. Last week, California Governor Gavin Newsom announced that some manufacturing and automotive businesses were permitted to resume “limited operations” while maintaining safe social distancing measures.

Musk and Tesla Human Resources representative Valerie Capers Workman sent an email to Fremont employees on the evening of Thursday, May 7, indicating that the facility would operate at a 30% capacity. However, the attempt to resume production of the company’s electric vehicles was shot down at the county level, as the Interim Health Official for Alameda County advised that Tesla was not to open on Friday.

Over the following weekend, Tesla released its “Return to Work Playbook,” a 38-page document that outlined strategies in how it could return to work safely. Many of the techniques used in this document were successful at Tesla’s China-based production facility, Giga Shanghai. Musk also expressed his displeasure at Alameda County’s stance, stating that Tesla would be moving its headquarters and future projects outside California.

Reports began to circulate on Monday that Fremont’s employee parking lot was already full of cars. Local media outlets eventually confirmed that Tesla had resumed production at Fremont against the wishes of County officials. That being said, in an emergency press release on Tuesday, the county stated that it had reviewed Tesla’s plan to keep its employees safe. County officials then decided that normal operations will be allowed to continue starting next week.

“We received Tesla’s site-specific Fremont COVID-19 Prevention and Control Plan yesterday as anticipated. A site-specific plan is a part of the Governor’s guidance for reopening manufacturing,” the Alameda County Public Health Department stated.

Tesla has received support from U.S. President Donald Trump, Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin, and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.

Tesla will be allowed to continue activities at its Fremont facility as long as it keeps “Minimum Basic Operations,” the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office stated in a recent press release.

“Today, May 11, we learned that the Tesla factory in Fremont had opened beyond Minimum Basic Operations. We have notified Tesla that they can only maintain Minimum Basic Operations until we have an approved plan that can be implemented in accordance with the local public health Order,” the Sheriff’s Office said.

Tesla has been working with the Sherriff’s Office since April 30, trying to collaborate on a plan that could allow the automaker to resume production safely.

#pressrelease – Public Health Updated Statement on Tesla @elonmusk @Tesla @FremontPD @Dare2BWell pic.twitter.com/oU5mSnwZKR

— Alameda County Sheriff (@ACSOSheriffs) May 11, 2020

The Silicon Valley-based company resumed production at its Fremont facility without the County’s approval earlier this week. Some workers who are employed at the Fremont production plant further stated that they had been at the site since late Sunday night, attempting to revamp the company’s vehicle production lines after the COVID-19 virus shut down the factory in late March.

Tesla initially planned to reopen Fremont last Friday, May 8. After California Governor Gavin Newsom stated on Thursday, May 7, that some businesses would be able to resume with“limited operations,” CEO Elon Musk and Head of Human Resources Valerie Capers Workman emailed the Fremont factory’s employees.

Both Tesla executives stated the company would attempt to reopen Fremont with a 30% capacity on the evening of May 8. However, Alameda County health officials shot down this plan and stated that Tesla had not received approval to begin manufacturing its electric cars once again.

In response, Musk stated his company would leave Northern California and open up a new headquarters in Nevada or Texas.

“Frankly, this is the final straw. 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,” Musk tweeted.

Tesla also filed a lawsuit against Alameda County, claiming its practices of inhibiting the company from reopening the facility were “inexplicable” because the orders were contradictory to Governor Newsom’s statements.

Tesla released a 38-page “Return to Work Playbook” on May 9, outlining its complete safety plan that would keep Fremont workers healthy. Many of the same techniques in the playbook are currently utilized at Tesla’s Giga Shanghai facility in China. So far, however, Alameda officials are yet to reveal which parts of Tesla’s safety plan are inadequate to meet the county’s standards.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has confirmed that vehicle production at the Fremont factory has resumed today despite orders from Alameda County health officials.

Musk has opted to take a bold stance by directly going against the orders of Alameda County health officials, though he emphasized in his tweet that he is responsible for any repercussions that may result from the Fremont factory’s reopening today. Musk added that if an arrest were to be made due to the factory’s reopening, he is the only one that should be apprehended.

“Tesla is restarting production today against Alameda County rules. I will be on the line with everyone else. If anyone is arrested, I ask that it only be me,” Musk wrote.

Prior to Musk’s tweet, reports emerged stating that Tesla’s Fremont factory is already up and running. The factory’s parking lot appears to be nearly full. Reporters in the area noted that the number of vehicles on the plant’s lot is comparable to that of a regular shift.

Tesla is restarting production today against Alameda County rules. I will be on the line with everyone else. If anyone is arrested, I ask that it only be me.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 11, 2020

CBS Bay Area affiliate KPIX reported that shift workers were seen funneling in and out of the building with personal protective equipment. Tesla has utilized the same technique at its production facility in Shanghai, China, which has been fully operational since February 10.

Another Bay Area news station, Fox affiliate KTVU, reported the lot was full of cars by the time the sun rose over Northern California on Monday. An employee called into the news station on Monday morning and stated he had been at work from 6 P.M. Sunday until 6 A.M. Monday.

Late last week, Tesla CEO Elon Musk sent an email to Fremont employees stating the company would begin production at the plant during the evening hours of Friday, May 8. However, this idea was shot down by Alameda County representatives who stated that Tesla would not be permitted to reopen the factory.

Musk immediately mentioned that Tesla would be opening a lawsuit against the County, stating that the closure was “inexplicable” and ignored an order that Governor Gavin Newsom had issued earlier. Newsom noted that manufacturing businesses were able to resume operation on Friday.

Following the opening of the lawsuit, Musk stated that Tesla would be moving its headquarters from California to Nevada or Texas. This claim was in response to the enforced closure of the Fremont plant from Alameda County officials. Tesla also released a 38-page Return to Work playbook detailing its plan to reopen the Fremont facility safely.

Tesla’s Fremont factory employs half of the 20,000 people who work for the electric automaker in the Bay Area of California. The facility produces the Model S, Model X, Model 3, and Model Y.