Tesla has announced its factories in Fremont, California, and New York, New York, will temporarily shut down dude to COVID-19:
Despite taking all known health precautions, continued operations in certain locations has caused challenges for our employees, their families and our suppliers.
As such, we have decided to temporarily suspend production at our factory in Fremont, from end of day March 23, which will allow an orderly shutdown. Basic operations will continue in order to support our vehicle and energy service operations and charging infrastructure, as directed by the local, state and federal authorities. Our factory in New York will temporarily suspend production as well, except for those parts and supplies necessary for service, infrastructure and critical supply chains. Operations of our others facilities will continue, including Nevada and our service and Supercharging network.
The electric vehicle maker had been negotiating with local authorities in Fremont this week, arguing for an exception from a local shelter-in-place order due to COVID-19 outbreaks.
Tesla says in most of its locations, they will be setting up “touches deliveries” for customers to pick up their new cars safely. The company says new customers can unlock their new cars through the Tesla app, sign papers inside, then drop off the latter at a designated location, for “convenience and comfort.”
The company says its cash position at the end of Q4 2019 was $6.3 billion USD before a recent $2.3 billion capital raise. “We believe this level of liquidity is sufficient to successfully navigate an extended period of uncertainty. At the end of Q4 2019, we had available credit lines worth approximately $3B including working capital lines for all regions as well as financing for the expansion of our Shanghai factory,” concluded Tesla.
Tesla recently launched its new Model Y compact SUV in the United States. The first Canadian deliveries are pegged for “mid-2020”, however, COVID-19 may affect the timeline for orders up north. Tesla also produced its one-millionth electric vehicle earlier this month, hitting a major company milestone.
