I promise this is not OT. Though What Musk does with his businesses could be considered such.
As an at risk, well educated, and following the science closely person I get it that we need to be very strict to reduce sickness and death from the novel coronavirus. This is a very tricky one since virus shedding starts days before any harsh symptoms begin, and asymptomatic carriers are shedding a lot of virus, for days with no way to know they are. Then the main method of transmission is simply talking. Where I live, in North Carolina we are following a very dysfunctional protocol, trying very hard to keep this from turning out as well as it did in Korea, for instance. We don't do contact tracing, we don't do testing, most people don't wear masks, or stand back from others except when peer behavior makes it plain that a location is trying to do the best possible. So we are paying the price of lots of people not working, kids at home all the time, etc. but getting no real benefit from it. We are looking at dragging this pandemic out for a couple of years. It is pretty clear that we have constructed a situation where we cannot sustain what needs to be done that will make this turn out well. People are going back to work here at the first hint of relaxing official rules, and they are acting as if this is not a highly contagious disease that is going to kill a lot of people or maim a bunch that recover. And I get it. We can't do this with comprehensive isolation and lockdown. But, we are not doing the other things we must do, either. In this context, Musk is watching opportunity just dissolve into thin air. I am betting his approach is to try to forge ahead and at the same time try to make it safe for his employees. He will get rid of the folks that can't help him do it (in this case the government of CA). Who knows maybe he will sequester a bunch of Texans and really hit a home run. Check their temperatures regularly, and do real contact tracing. See to their well being if they get sick, and so on. He can't afford to kill off the skilled workforce he has assembled, you can bet he knows that. They are problem solvers and this could be the sharp end of the the stick they decided is necessary. It is a pickle. Tantrum? That is just a biased, provocative, and unhelpful way to view it. California may not be constitutionally able to let him try. He is trying to force their hand though because it will be enormously expensive to relocate. Either way if he can keep rolling, safely, making the best EVs on the planet, it will be better for everyone. I am open to the idea that Musk may be seeking a suboptimal, but best case solution here. I think suboptimal is the best we can do right now. On Sun, May 10, 2020 at 8:54 AM paul dove via EV <[email protected]> wrote: > Glad someone is speaking up > > Sent from my iPhone > > > On May 10, 2020, at 2:40 AM, EVDL Administrator via EV < > [email protected]> wrote: > > > > > https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/10/elon-musk-threatens-to-move- > > tesla-hq-out-of-california-over-covid-19-restrictions > > > > Elon Musk threatens to move Tesla HQ out of California over Covid-19 > > restrictions > > > > Reuters > > Published on Sat 9 May 2020 22.25 EDT > > > > Tesla is suing local authorities in California as the electric carmaker > > pushes to reopen its factory there and chief executive Elon Musk > threatens > > to move the company´s headquarters to Texas or Nevada. > > > > Musk has been pushing to reopen Tesla´s Fremont, California, factory > after > > Alameda County´s health department said the carmaker must not reopen > because > > local lockdown measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus remain in > > effect. > > > > Tesla filed a lawsuit against the county on Saturday, calling the > continued > > restrictions a "power-grab" by the county since California´s governor > had > > said on Thursday that manufacturers in the state would be allowed to > reopen. > > The company said Alameda was going against the federal and California > > constitutions, as well as defying the governor´s order, in the lawsuit > filed > > in San Francisco federal court. > > > > Alameda County, where the Fremont factory is located, is scheduled to > remain > > shut until the end of May, with only essential businesses allowed to > reopen. > > County officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment on > the > > lawsuit. > > > > The outspoken Musk also took to Twitter on Saturday to complain and > > threatened to leave the state. "If we even retain Fremont manufacturing > > activity at all, it will be dependent on how Tesla is treated in the > > future," he tweeted. The San Francisco Bay area facility is currently > > Tesla´s only US vehicle factory. > > > > [Tweet] "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 dependen on how Tesla is > treated > > in the future. Tesla is the last carmaker left in CA. > > - Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 9, 2020" > > > > Alameda County said on Saturday that it has been working with Tesla to > > develop a safety plan that "allows for reopening while protecting the > health > > and well-being of the thousands of employees" who work at the factory, > and > > that it looks forward to coming to an agreement on a safety plan very > soon. > > > > Fremont mayor Lily Mei expressed concern about the potential economic > > implications of continuing the shelter-in-place order without provisions > for > > manufacturers such as Tesla to resume. Mei on Saturday urged the county > to > > work with businesses on "acceptable guidelines for re-opening". > > > > Musk had told employees on Thursday that limited production would > restart at > > Fremont on Friday afternoon. Tesla builds more than 415,000 cars a year > at > > the Fremont plant and moving the entire production facility would be a > > massive undertaking. Dan Ives, a Wedbush analyst, on Saturday estimated > it > > could take the company 12 to 18 months to relocate production. > > > > The threat to relocate the facility comes as Tesla aims to ramp up > > production at Fremont of its Model Y sport utility vehicle, the > carmaker´s > > most profitable vehicle to date. > > > > Musk, who sparred with California officials in March over whether Tesla > had > > to halt production at Fremont, had criticised the lockdown and > stay-at-home > > orders, calling them a "serious risk" to US business and > "unconstitutional". > > > > Tesla shares have risen 127% since 18 March, their recent closing low, > > including a 16.8% gain in the last trading week to close at $819.42 on > > Friday. > > > > David Roden - Akron, Ohio, USA > > EVDL Administrator > > > > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = > > EVDL Information: http://www.evdl.org/help/ > > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = > > Note: mail sent to "evpost" and "etpost" addresses will not > > reach me. To send a private message, please obtain my > > email address from the webpage http://www.evdl.org/help/ . > > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub > > ARCHIVE: http://www.evdl.org/archive/index.html > > INFO: http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org > > Please discuss EV drag racing at NEDRA ( > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEDRA) > > > > _______________________________________________ > UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub > ARCHIVE: http://www.evdl.org/archive/index.html > INFO: http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org > Please discuss EV drag racing at NEDRA ( > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEDRA) > > -- Michael E. 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