A view of Tesla Inc's US plant. — Reuters
SAN FRANCISCO: Tesla Inc on Thursday ended a standoff with local California authorities concerned about the spread of the coronavirus, saying it will suspend production at its San Francisco Bay Area vehicle factory on March 24.
The company said its New York solar roof tile factory will also temporarily suspend production, while operations at its Nevada battery plant will continue.
“Despite taking all known health precautions, continued operations in certain locations has caused challenges for our employees, their families and our suppliers,” the company said in a statement.
Tesla’s shares were down 8% in after-hours trading following the announcement.
The decision to suspend production at the Fremont, California, plant comes as Tesla ramps up production of its Model Y sport utility vehicle at the factory. Demand for the Model Y is expected to be higher than for all of Tesla’s other models combined, chief executive Elon Musk has said.
Musk on Thursday tweeted that Tesla’s China operations were running “normally across hundreds of suppliers & all of Tesla Shanghai.” The Shanghai factory is key to Tesla’s growth strategy and the company plans to expand car production capacity there.
Tesla’s decision to suspend production came after several days of discussions with local officials and after the company met on Thursday with the city of Fremont.
The highly contagious respiratory illness has infected more than 10,700 in the United States.
The automaker also said it believed it had enough liquidity to successfully navigate the extended period of uncertainty, with some US$6.3 billion in cash at the end of the third quarter, ahead of a recent $2.3 billion capital raise.
The city and officials from the surrounding Alameda County did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday.
Alameda County is one of six counties covered by an order from regional officials to “shelter in place,” which limits activity, travel and business functions to only the most essential, and advises people to stay home except for the most crucial reasons.
The county sheriff’s office said on Tuesday afternoon Tesla was not considered an essential business and cannot continue to operate its factory normally.
