California gov hopes Tesla can resume manufacturing

California Governor Gavin Newsom says he expects any disputes about reopening the Tesla plant in Fremont, California, will be resolved quickly with county health officials.

"My belief and hope and expectation is as early as next week they will be able to resume," Newsom said.

The parking lot was nearly full at Tesla's California electric car factory Monday, an indication that the company could be resuming production in defiance of an order from county health authorities.

A statement posted by Tesla on its website Saturday night said the company "has started the process of resuming operations" but didn't say when manufacturing would actually begin. A message was left Monday seeking comment from the company.

The full parking lot came two days after Tesla sued Alameda County's health department seeking to overturn the order, and CEO Elon Musk threatened to move Tesla's manufacturing and headquarters operations out of the state.

A normal complement of workers would violate orders from the Alameda County Health Department, which has deemed the plant a nonessential business that can't open under restrictions to help stop the spread of novel coronavirus.

Newsom said he would be in contact with Alameda health officials about the plant's reopening.

Messages seeking comment from Tesla and local and state authorities were not immediately returned. Tesla has sued the county seeking to overturn the restrictions.

Newsom also said he expects that Major League Baseball will abide by state guidelines on coronavirus protections if they begin playing games in July. California has five MLB teams.

The new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms for most people, but for some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness or death.