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Without commenting on whether it is sound, the logic seems to be that transportation (particularly private transportation) is essential. Thus, auto repair and

Without commenting on whether it is sound, the logic seems to be that transportation (particularly private transportation) is essential. Thus, auto repair and supply businesses have been exempted as "essential businesses" (they are specifically called out in all 6 Bay Area county orders). Taking this one step further, auto repair businesses can't very well repair cars if there are no parts available, and those parts come from Fremont. Therefore, the Tesla factory would (at least in part) theoretically already qualify for an exemption under the existing order. One could also make the argument that (given that private transportation has been deemed an "essential" service) replacing worn out or destroyed cars is essential, and thus manufacturing finished cars qualifies for an exemption.

mech1234 7y ago
Your argument can be extended infinitely. It's pretty easy to understand that Tesla (and any other assembly plants that fit in this window) is simply getting special treatment here. The factory that makes hydraulic fluid for Tesla's presses that stamp out car parts is also part of the transportation supply chain, As is the oil refinery that supplies feedstock to the hydraulic oil vendor.
- behringer 7y ago
  Are you sure they haven't been exempted already?
- wayoutthere 7y ago
  You're absolutely right; our economy is far too interconnected to isolate specific industries. Right now it's a bit of a "tragedy of the commons" situation where the companies that are able to sustain operations (legally or illegally) will reap huge rewards when everything starts to go back to some version of normal. I honestly think the thing we will learn from this pandemic is that we can't stop a modern economy like this for a couple months without also incurring significant loss of life. If this shutdown extends more than a month we're going to see supplies start to run low and people will panic. Grocery stores around me (large northeastern city) are already having trouble restocking.
  - imoverclocked 7y ago
    Careful, things may not go back to normal and we may have a lasting recession. This is especially so if we don't do things to help the rest of the economic ecosystem alive during this period of little to no commerce in some sectors. At the same time, I hope Tesla is going as far as they can to protect their workers... and that will probably be the real story at the end of all of this, "What companies did to protect their workers and the economy around them."
    - wayoutthere 7y ago
      I think it's already too late; we've ground the nation to a halt and it will take a while to restart. I work for a company that is often cited for knowing these kinds of things, and we were told today to operate under the assumption that the economy will be more or less shut down until May/June, with normal economic activity not resuming until the end of Q3. All that said, the companies that can keep as much of their operations going until then will be in a much better position to come out of this intact. We're heading into the next great depression, and it's going to take a New Deal type of effort to recover. Trump is actually in a remarkably similar position to Hoover in all this too; so it's not unprecedented to be headed into something like this with a nincompoop at the helm.
  - mrandish 7y ago
    A severe and sustained global economic depression could kill significantly more people than CV19, mostly in Africa and other poor regions. It could also trigger a half-million first-time homeless in the US. We need to "Flatten the curve" enough to spread out critical care capacity surges without over-achieving to the extent we cause even more harm long-term to the world's poorest populations. We need a constant gradual rate of CV19 spread. If we "full stop" CV19's spread now, when social distancing and lockdowns lift, we'll be facing Wuhan/Italy surges again.
    - wayoutthere 7y ago
      This is the time I really miss having adults running the federal government. Individual states are flying blind while everyone at the federal level is too worried about how the boss will take it to effectively coordinate.
- jsight 7y ago
  Honestly, your point is valid except for the part about special treatment. From what I've heard, window tint shops are staying open too based upon the same exemption. Its a confusing time and the regulators haven't fully thought this exemption through. (Just to be clear, I'm not defending Tesla here. They have the choice to shutdown regardless of government order or exemptions)
  - selectodude 7y ago
    If a business owner wants to skirt the regulations by following the letter of the law instead of the spirit of it, that's fine and we can consider them all assholes. The rules are to keep people from getting sick. I hope all of his employees go on strike like the Mercedes and VW ones.
    - lol636363 7y ago
      People worship him, no one has guts to strike at Tesla
  - lozenge 7y ago
    It is still special treatment. If the largest business in the area was producing nail varnish, you might find that "beauticians are staying open too based upon the same exemption" - it would still be special treament because neither of them should be open.
- labcomputer 7y ago
  > The factory that makes hydraulic fluid for Tesla's presses that stamp out car parts is also part of the transportation supply chain, As is the oil refinery that supplies feedstock to the hydraulic oil vendor. Yes, I believe that is rather the point of the exemptions laid out in the order. The health commissioner is trying to prevent infections of Covid-19, not destroy the economy. Tell me how you feel about drycleaners. They are also explicitly exempted as businesses providing essential services. Actually, now that I think about it, you're right: It is more important to have a crisply-pressed suit than transportation to the grocery store for food. Grab the pitchforks, let's get Elon!
  - wolfgang42 7y ago
    Dry cleaners are essential services because they are necessary for sanitation. They may not be for you, but for example my pillow is dry clean only and it would be a problem if I spilled my morning tea on it and then ants showed up because I couldn't have it cleaned because someone thought I could live with limp creases.
    - Fjolsvith 7y ago
      Did you tell your maid and butler to stay home during the crisis?
      - wolfgang42 7y ago
        I’m going to ignore the thinly veiled personal insult and focus on why I wrote the above comment: I find it irritating when people assume that if they can’t see an obvious reason for something then there must not be any reason at all, and doubly so when they assume an air of superiority about it. In hindsight, it was a bit off-topic for this thread and maybe I should have held my tongue. However, I’d like to point out that you’ve done the same thing again: while I do not personally have a maid, I might have been disabled and require a housekeeper to do some cleaning that I was incapable of. Fortunately, unlike you, the public health department has also thought of that scenario and covered it in their order as well.
bdcravens 7y ago
Parts, yes. New cars, no. In the short term regarding replacement cars, I'm certain there's enough inventory. The optics of what is still considered a luxury brand continuing the production lines isn't great (but is consistent with the messaging Musk has released during this crisis)
anthm1988 7y ago
No, it's a giveaway to Elon because he's a billionaire. He's killing people.
sybarita 7y ago
Oh yeah any interruption in Tesla's notoriously smooth repair process would totally cripple the state for sure. What with all the critical services reliant on ... checks notes ... luxury electric sports cars.
- jsight 7y ago
  I was with you until that last bit. Its not fair to describe Tesla's buyers as only buyers of "luxury electric sports cars" at this point.
  - threeseed 7y ago
    "luxury electric cars" then.
    - Sohcahtoa82 7y ago
      Whether or not a Model 3 counts as a luxury car is debatable. And I say this as a Model 3 owner. It's a nice car for sure, but I personally wouldn't call it a luxury car.
      - jsight 7y ago
        Yeah, I've had this discussion before. I'm not convinced that its any worse than a base 3 series, but I'm also not convinced that a base 3 series is a luxury car. Sure, its a premium with premium perforance, but its not "luxurious". Conversely, you can get more "luxurious" cars with worse performance for about the same money. Want luxury and premium performance? That's another 10k (at least) with most brands and Tesla doesn't really offer a car with both at all, IMO.
        grecy 7y ago
        The Model 3 starts at $35k.[1] That makes it cheaper[2] than a Honda Civic ($36.3), Volvo S50 ($36), and a BMW 2-series ($35.3). Are they luxury cars? [1] Please don't say you can't actually buy one for that, it has been proven many, many times that you can, you just have to call Tesla. [2] https://www.motortrend.com/price/30-40k/ https://www.motortrend.com/price/30-40k/
booboolayla 7y ago
I'm not pro or contra Tesla and Elon, but an automobile factory simply can't be exempted as an essential business at the time when 99% of their customers are ordered to shelter themselves and restrain movement.

mech1234 7y ago

Your argument can be extended infinitely. It's pretty easy to understand that Tesla (and any other assembly plants that fit in this window) is simply getting special treatment here. The factory that makes hydraulic fluid for Tesla's presses that stamp out car parts is also part of the transportation supply chain, As is the oil refinery that supplies feedstock to the hydraulic oil vendor.

behringer 7y ago
Are you sure they haven't been exempted already?
wayoutthere 7y ago
You're absolutely right; our economy is far too interconnected to isolate specific industries. Right now it's a bit of a "tragedy of the commons" situation where the companies that are able to sustain operations (legally or illegally) will reap huge rewards when everything starts to go back to some version of normal. I honestly think the thing we will learn from this pandemic is that we can't stop a modern economy like this for a couple months without also incurring significant loss of life. If this shutdown extends more than a month we're going to see supplies start to run low and people will panic. Grocery stores around me (large northeastern city) are already having trouble restocking.
- imoverclocked 7y ago
  Careful, things may not go back to normal and we may have a lasting recession. This is especially so if we don't do things to help the rest of the economic ecosystem alive during this period of little to no commerce in some sectors. At the same time, I hope Tesla is going as far as they can to protect their workers... and that will probably be the real story at the end of all of this, "What companies did to protect their workers and the economy around them."
  - wayoutthere 7y ago
    I think it's already too late; we've ground the nation to a halt and it will take a while to restart. I work for a company that is often cited for knowing these kinds of things, and we were told today to operate under the assumption that the economy will be more or less shut down until May/June, with normal economic activity not resuming until the end of Q3. All that said, the companies that can keep as much of their operations going until then will be in a much better position to come out of this intact. We're heading into the next great depression, and it's going to take a New Deal type of effort to recover. Trump is actually in a remarkably similar position to Hoover in all this too; so it's not unprecedented to be headed into something like this with a nincompoop at the helm.
- mrandish 7y ago
  A severe and sustained global economic depression could kill significantly more people than CV19, mostly in Africa and other poor regions. It could also trigger a half-million first-time homeless in the US. We need to "Flatten the curve" enough to spread out critical care capacity surges without over-achieving to the extent we cause even more harm long-term to the world's poorest populations. We need a constant gradual rate of CV19 spread. If we "full stop" CV19's spread now, when social distancing and lockdowns lift, we'll be facing Wuhan/Italy surges again.
  - wayoutthere 7y ago
    This is the time I really miss having adults running the federal government. Individual states are flying blind while everyone at the federal level is too worried about how the boss will take it to effectively coordinate.
jsight 7y ago
Honestly, your point is valid except for the part about special treatment. From what I've heard, window tint shops are staying open too based upon the same exemption. Its a confusing time and the regulators haven't fully thought this exemption through. (Just to be clear, I'm not defending Tesla here. They have the choice to shutdown regardless of government order or exemptions)
- selectodude 7y ago
  If a business owner wants to skirt the regulations by following the letter of the law instead of the spirit of it, that's fine and we can consider them all assholes. The rules are to keep people from getting sick. I hope all of his employees go on strike like the Mercedes and VW ones.
  - lol636363 7y ago
    People worship him, no one has guts to strike at Tesla
- lozenge 7y ago
  It is still special treatment. If the largest business in the area was producing nail varnish, you might find that "beauticians are staying open too based upon the same exemption" - it would still be special treament because neither of them should be open.
labcomputer 7y ago
> The factory that makes hydraulic fluid for Tesla's presses that stamp out car parts is also part of the transportation supply chain, As is the oil refinery that supplies feedstock to the hydraulic oil vendor. Yes, I believe that is rather the point of the exemptions laid out in the order. The health commissioner is trying to prevent infections of Covid-19, not destroy the economy. Tell me how you feel about drycleaners. They are also explicitly exempted as businesses providing essential services. Actually, now that I think about it, you're right: It is more important to have a crisply-pressed suit than transportation to the grocery store for food. Grab the pitchforks, let's get Elon!
- wolfgang42 7y ago
  Dry cleaners are essential services because they are necessary for sanitation. They may not be for you, but for example my pillow is dry clean only and it would be a problem if I spilled my morning tea on it and then ants showed up because I couldn't have it cleaned because someone thought I could live with limp creases.
  - Fjolsvith 7y ago
    Did you tell your maid and butler to stay home during the crisis?
    - wolfgang42 7y ago
      I’m going to ignore the thinly veiled personal insult and focus on why I wrote the above comment: I find it irritating when people assume that if they can’t see an obvious reason for something then there must not be any reason at all, and doubly so when they assume an air of superiority about it. In hindsight, it was a bit off-topic for this thread and maybe I should have held my tongue. However, I’d like to point out that you’ve done the same thing again: while I do not personally have a maid, I might have been disabled and require a housekeeper to do some cleaning that I was incapable of. Fortunately, unlike you, the public health department has also thought of that scenario and covered it in their order as well.

bdcravens 7y ago

Parts, yes. New cars, no. In the short term regarding replacement cars, I'm certain there's enough inventory. The optics of what is still considered a luxury brand continuing the production lines isn't great (but is consistent with the messaging Musk has released during this crisis)

anthm1988 7y ago

No, it's a giveaway to Elon because he's a billionaire. He's killing people.

sybarita 7y ago

Oh yeah any interruption in Tesla's notoriously smooth repair process would totally cripple the state for sure. What with all the critical services reliant on ... checks notes ... luxury electric sports cars.

jsight 7y ago
I was with you until that last bit. Its not fair to describe Tesla's buyers as only buyers of "luxury electric sports cars" at this point.
- threeseed 7y ago
  "luxury electric cars" then.
  - Sohcahtoa82 7y ago
    Whether or not a Model 3 counts as a luxury car is debatable. And I say this as a Model 3 owner. It's a nice car for sure, but I personally wouldn't call it a luxury car.
    - jsight 7y ago
      Yeah, I've had this discussion before. I'm not convinced that its any worse than a base 3 series, but I'm also not convinced that a base 3 series is a luxury car. Sure, its a premium with premium perforance, but its not "luxurious". Conversely, you can get more "luxurious" cars with worse performance for about the same money. Want luxury and premium performance? That's another 10k (at least) with most brands and Tesla doesn't really offer a car with both at all, IMO.
      - grecy 7y ago
        The Model 3 starts at $35k.[1] That makes it cheaper[2] than a Honda Civic ($36.3), Volvo S50 ($36), and a BMW 2-series ($35.3). Are they luxury cars? [1] Please don't say you can't actually buy one for that, it has been proven many, many times that you can, you just have to call Tesla. [2] https://www.motortrend.com/price/30-40k/ https://www.motortrend.com/price/30-40k/

booboolayla 7y ago

I'm not pro or contra Tesla and Elon, but an automobile factory simply can't be exempted as an essential business at the time when 99% of their customers are ordered to shelter themselves and restrain movement.