Amid lockdown dispute, Musk says he will move Tesla out of California

(Reuters) – Tesla Inc’s (TSLA.O) chief executive Elon Musk tweeted on Saturday that Tesla will move its headquarters and future programs to Texas or Nevada from California immediately.

“If we even retain Fremont manufacturing activity at all, it will be dependen (sp) on how Tesla is treated in the future,” he wrote on Twitter, referring to the facility in the San Francisco Bay area that is Tesla’s only U.S. vehicle factory.

Musk also tweeted about suing Alameda County, California, after its health department said the electric carmaker must not reopen the Fremont factory as local lockdown measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus remain in effect.

Musk had told employees on Thursday that limited production would restart at Fremont on Friday afternoon.

California Governor Gavin Newsom said on Thursday that manufacturers in the state would be allowed to reopen. But Alameda County, where the factory is located, is scheduled to remain shut until the end of May with only essential businesses allowed to reopen.

A county official said on Friday that its health department has had many discussions with the company and recommended that Tesla wait at least another week to monitor infection rates and discuss safe ways to resume production.

Musk, who sparred with California officials in March over whether Tesla had to halt production at Fremont, has criticized the lockdown and stay-at-home orders, calling them a “serious risk” to U.S. business and “unconstitutional.”