Tesla Plans on Staying Open Despite Shelter in Place

I don't often jump to that sort of language, but I'm 100% with you. In what world is Tesla an essential business, other than its size, public image, and political clout?

What a mess.

If you shut down a factory, this affects every single company that sells them parts down the production chain and everyone who buys factory's product up the production chain. You also affect every single business that services those factories, including equipment manufacturers, maintenance and delivery. You also affect other customers of all those companies if loss of part of their business forces them to shut down.

Meanwhile, you're not producing parts and you're not maintaining equipment. So when the virus is over, there is no clear path to restart the whole thing.

According to this document [1] (found via reddit comment here [2]), I found Alameda County's list of essential businesses. Tesla is not definitely in any of these groups, but one could easily argue it should be classified in Category XV (supporting essential business Category VI). "Jimmy's Bar and Grill" would definitely fit in Category XIII, required to close except for the production of takeout and pickup.

i. Healthcare Operations and Essential Infrastructure;

ii. Grocery stores, certified farmers’ markets, farm and produce stands, supermarkets, food banks, convenience stores, and other establishments engaged in the retail sale of canned food, dry goods, fresh fruits and vegetables, pet supply, fresh meats, fish, and poultry, and any other household consumer products (such as cleaning and personal care products). This includes stores that sell groceries and also sell other nongrocery products, and products necessary to maintaining the safety, sanitation, and essential operation of residences;

iii. Food cultivation, including farming, livestock, and fishing;

iv. Businesses that provide food, shelter, and social services, and other necessities of life for economically disadvantaged or otherwise needy individuals;

v. Newspapers, television, radio, and other media services;

vi. Gas stations and auto-supply, auto-repair, and related facilities;

vii. Banks and related financial institutions;

viii. Hardware stores;

ix. Plumbers, electricians, exterminators, and other service providers who provide services that are necessary to maintaining the safety, sanitation, and essential operation of residences, Essential Activities, and Essential Businesses;

x. Businesses providing mailing and shipping services, including post office boxes;

xi. Educational institutions—including public and private K-12 schools, colleges, and universities—for purposes of facilitating distance learning or performing essential functions, provided that social distancing of six-feet per person is maintained to the greatest extent possible;

xii. Laundromats, drycleaners, and laundry service providers;

xiii. Restaurants and other facilities that prepare and serve food, but only for delivery or carry out. Schools and other entities that typically provide free food services to students or members of the public may continue to do so under this Order on the condition that the food is provided to students or members of the public on a pick-up and take-away basis only. Schools and other entities that provide food services under this exemption shall not permit the food to be eaten at the site where it is provided, or at any other gathering site;

xiv. Businesses that supply products needed for people to work from home;

xv. Businesses that supply other essential businesses with the support or supplies necessary to operate;

xvi. Businesses that ship or deliver groceries, food, goods or services directly to residences;

xvii. Airlines, taxis, and other private transportation providers providing transportation services necessary for Essential Activities and other purposes expressly authorized in this Order;

xviii. Home-based care for seniors, adults, or children;

xix. Residential facilities and shelters for seniors, adults, and children;

xx. Professional services, such as legal or accounting services, when necessary to assist in compliance with legally mandated activities;

xxi. Childcare facilities providing services that enable employees exempted in this Order to work as permitted. To the extent possible, childcare facilities must operate under the following mandatory conditions: 1. Childcare must be carried out in stable groups of 12 or fewer (“stable” means that the same 12 or fewer children are in the same group each day). 2. Children shall not change from one group to another. 3. If more than one group of children is cared for at one facility, each group shall be in a separate room. Groups shall not mix with each other. 4. Childcare providers shall remain solely with one group of children

[1] http://acgov.org/documents/Final-Order-to-Shelter-In-Place.p...

[2] https://www.reddit.com/r/teslamotors/comments/fk05w9/stay_ho...

It could be argued that you need a personal car. If your car breaks down, you need parts to be able to repair that car.

The consequences of Jimmy's Bar and Grill being closed is that you just go somewhere else for food. The consequences of being unable to fix your personal transportation means you lose a lot of freedom to provide for yourself.

Imagine an old person whose car breaks down today. Is it essential for them to be able to repair it (so they have a means to buy food, get to the doctor, etc), or are they going to be able to walk to the grocer, ask friends/family to bring them food, break a retirement budget on repeated delivery, etc?

I think he's wrong, and it's got to be hyperbole to say "not within the top 100 health risks" given the 15th place per the CDC was responsible for 20K deaths last year[0]. Actually, if you figure that the next 85 causes all split the rest of the deaths evenly (not reasonable, but puts an absolute upper bound on the 100th cause's mortality) they would clock in at ~6600 deaths each.

Soooo... I dunno. I'm not exactly surprised Elon seems straight up wrong about this, and that it sounds like he's prioritizing keeping SpaceX and Tesla at full operations over the health of so many people.

0: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr68/nvsr68_09-508.pdf Table B

Yes they can, if directed to do so. Will they incur a cost? Of course. It's part of the cost of doing business in a regulated economy.

Really, this is just "Tesla has more clout in Alameda than most other businesses".