Elon Musk Wins. Tesla Can Reopen Its Factory

Also worth noting that he got support from government officials, including the state governor.

In most cases, the counties compete against each other, trying to host bigger and more expensive companies within them. Amazon proved the model when they were competing in 20+ cities for HQ2... and all the cities tried to offer lower and lower taxes to Amazon.

Same thing here. Tesla just makes a few threats about leaving the county, and then the county capitulates. Ultimately, these companies have the power to change the counties that host them. Even in open defiance of the law.

I find it hard to blame the citizens of Alameda for not respecting the rule of law when Alameda brags about being a sanctuary city.

It is. But it's also important that the rule of law not become tyrannical and oppressive. This is all the more reason that it's very important to put many checks and balances and deadlocks in the legislative process to greatly limit the degree to which it can become tyrannical. Preventing tyranny is a key prerequisite to getting members of society to respect the rule of law.

If the laws were just inconvenient, Alameda wouldn't have given in. They are wrong and destructive and there's little reason for them other than putting authorities in a cosy spot (lockdown means nobody can blame authorities for casualties) while everyone else has to suffer.

It's stunning though how many people will just switch off their brains and chime in with the fearmongering when they get scared and instinctively turn to authorities for help, rationalizing their measures, however meaningless they may be.