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Tesla Fremont factory reopening defended by county officials: ‘TSLA has not been given an exception’
Tesla’s situation at the Fremont facility has been clarified by Alameda County health officials, who published their response to questions they have received from the media. The updated information from the county was posted in a press release that was published on Wednesday night.
Tensions between Tesla and Alameda County came to a head recently after the company was set to reopen at with “limited operations” last Friday under conditions that were mandated by California Governor Gavin Newsom. However, Alameda County health officials prohibited Tesla from reopening its Fremont plant on May 8.
Under the leadership of CEO Elon Musk, Tesla reopened the Fremont factory on Sunday, May 10, against the wishes of county health officials. Media members asked several questions about why Tesla had not been penalized for not listening to instructions. This was explored in one of the inquiries asked by members of the media.
On Monday, Elon Musk tweeted that “Tesla is restarting production today against Alameda County rules. I will be on the line with everyone else. If anyone is arrested, I ask that it only be me.” Given that the CEO acknowledges that production has restarted against the county health order’s guidelines, why does your statement indicate that there may be a “possible reopening next week”?
Alameda County officials responded to this inquiry by clarifying that Tesla is operating above basic minimum operations due to the nature of the auto industry, which requires a lead-up period before production facilities could return to normal operations.
“We have met with Tesla representatives and have confirmed that Tesla is not engaged in full operations, contrary to media reports. Tesla has confirmed that its operations require a substantial lead time to become fully operational, and their current operations are only slightly above Minimum Business Operations. The City of Fremont Police Department – which had done multiple site-visits at the plant over multiple years, and which has knowledge of what Tesla’s normal operations look like – will conduct a site visit today to confirm Tesla’s claims.
“Given the unique nature and scale of automobile manufacturing and the safety measures agreed to by Tesla, we concluded that ramp up activity with a minimal increase in minimum basic operations can occur safely.”
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Earlier reports indicated that Tesla’s employee parking lots in Fremont might have been just as occupied on Sunday and Monday as it was for a typical work shift. However, Alameda County officials clarified that the facility was only operating under conditions that were slightly above minimum basic operations. This action is due to “substantial lead time to become fully operational,” the county explained.
Another question suggested that Tesla received special treatment from Alameda County. CEO Elon Musk stated earlier this week that the facility was reopened despite the county’s stance. No disciplinary action was taken by the County, and journalists wanted to know why. This was addressed in an inquiry from a member of the media.
“Given that Tesla has been given an exception, what does that do to the moral authority of the County when other businesses try to open before they’re allowed? I think the question of equal enforcement of the law is an important public policy issue.”
Alameda County officials clarified that Tesla had not received any sort of preferential treatment and that Tesla’s safety plan was clear enough to indicate that it was safe to begin production as early as next week.
“Tesla has not been given an exception. The role of the Public Health Department is to protect our residents and the individuals who come to work in Alameda County. We do that by reviewing safety plans and working with local law enforcement, who hold the authority to enforce the Health Officer Orders. We hope and expect that other businesses see the value of continuing to abide by the Health Officer Order, as it applies to them, in order to protect their workforce, our most vulnerable residents, and our health care systems in general. Because of the hard sacrifices of our local businesses, we anticipate another phase of reopening as early as next week.”
The full Press Release from Alameda County could be accessed in full below.
press-release-2020.05.13 by Simon Alvarez on Scribd
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Tesla has started to deploy the 2026 Summer Update to owners across its fleet, and among the biggest changes are improvements to Navigation, a new startup animation for the Model 3 and Model Y, Caraoke scoring, and new capabilities for Grok.
As the update has started making its way to some cars, we can now see a few of the features operating in real-time. We will show you what some of the new features look like in this article, along with some additional details on what changed.
Not all of the new features in the 2026 Summer Update have quite made an appearance, but some of them have, so we’ll show those here:
New Animation Screen for 3/Y
Tesla is rolling out a new startup animation for Tesla Model 3 and Model Y owners. This is present in Launch Edition and Performance Model 3 and Model Y, but other trim levels do not have anything like this.
The new animation screen on Model 3/Y with the 2026 Summer Update
Apparently color will also be customizable: pic.twitter.com/wSdwggtG3S
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) July 27, 2026
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Owners can adjust the color associated with the startup animation to suit their preferences. It is a surprise that more automakers do not focus on this animation for their vehicles; it can be a great first impression piece and make the car immediately feel more luxurious.
Tesla has included this on more premium trims, but it is nice to see it on the Model 3 and Model Y.
Grok Improvements
Grok can now adjust more things in the car outside of the Navigation system. Now, drivers can adjust anything from climate to driving settings by simply speaking to the AI assistant in the car:
@Tesla‘s AI assistant (Grok) with its new vehicle commands in action.
Set the climate, your destination and vehicle settings all in one go! pic.twitter.com/0bBTqaAk6G
— Not a Tesla App (@NotATeslaApp) July 28, 2026
You don’t even have to push a button, either. Instead, you can just say “Hey, Grok,” if you have it enabled. That feature rolled out with the 2026 Spring Update just a few months back.
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This is a great feature, especially pertinent for the Robotaxi platform, as there will be no buttons inside the Cybercab when it eventually starts giving rides to the public. It also broadens Grok’s capabilities, which were relatively limited in terms of vehicle setting adjustments beforehand.
Tesla briefly offered one Robotaxi part in its Parts Catalog for your personal car, only to remove it just a short time after it was first noticed.
Tesla’s Robotaxi camera washer apparatus was briefly available for purchase on the company’s Online Parts Catalog. The camera washer was first noticed on Model Y Robotaxi vehicles about six months ago in Austin.
🚨 Tesla looks to have installed Camera Washers on the side repeater cameras on Robotaxis in Austin
pic.twitter.com/xemRtDtlRR— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) January 23, 2026
First noticed by Not a Tesla App, the Camera Washer entries appeared for the new “Juniper” Model Y under a category called “Halo,” which has also now disappeared. Interestingly, Halo probably is related to Tesla’s internal “Project Halo,” which was a project that aimed to retrofit customer-owned Model Ys into functional Robotaxis.
This hardware addition would likely be required for the vehicle to operate as a Robotaxi, as the Camera Washer seems to be a non-negotiable part of the vision-based system Tesla utilizes for self-driving efforts.
However, this part has since been removed and is no longer visible on the EPC.
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Now the true question lingers: Why would Tesla add this Camera Washer to the Model Y parts catalog? Is it planning to make it available for owners to utilize on their own cars for personal use, or will it become a prerequisite for Robotaxi operation in customer-owned cars?
While discussing the upgrade options for Hardware 3 vehicles during the Q1 Earnings Call, Tesla CEO Elon Musk had said that the company could establish small, satellite shops that would upgrade cameras and self-driving computers. Perhaps this same strategy could be utilized for vehicles that want to be included in Robotaxi but do not have the correct hardware.
AI4 is currently represented as capable of unsupervised self-driving, and the same was said about HW3 at one point, only for Tesla to admit last quarter that it would, unfortunately, not be possible. Perhaps AI4 vehicles might need this camera washer as a prerequisite, just as HW3 cars will need that camera and computer upgrade.
This could be the first hint of that’s where we are headed.
Tesla has started rolling out a broader change to the ride experience for its Robotaxi fleet by silencing turn signals, but the change is certainly polarizing.
Tesla has generally made it clear that its purpose-built ride-hailing platform, Robotaxi, will cater to the rider in nearly every way possible. This includes having climate preferences, music, and other personal settings loaded up in the car as the rider enters.
But Tesla is taking it a step further by muting turn signal chimes altogether, a change that appears to be a way to make the ride more peaceful:
Tesla has finally turned off the blinker/turn signal noises in their Model Y Robotaxis.
This is a small update, but will definitely be noticeable for riders. It didn’t really make much sense to leave the turn signal sound on when it’s Unsupervised. pic.twitter.com/ITwx60PAMO
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) July 27, 2026
However, there are a handful of people who are not thrilled about this change. Turn signals are a conditioned part of the human mind for those who ride in a car regularly.
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Taking a turn without one feels strange and odd, and not hearing it click while activated could set off some alarms for riders, who might use the noise as confirmation that other drivers know of their intention to turn.
I kind of like it being on, threw me off when riding with Zoox who has had it disabled
— Dan Burkland (@DBurkland) July 27, 2026
Turn signal noises are still audible in customer cars, so if you use FSD in your personal vehicle, you will still hear the turn signal.
The move is certainly one that is unique, but not one that separates it from other ride-sharing services. In a normal car, the clicking sound confirms to the driver that the blinker is active. In a fully driverless Robotaxi, that feedback serves no purpose for passengers, other than peace of mind.
Tesla Summer Update begins rolling out: a look at the new features
Tesla briefly offered this Robotaxi part for your personal car
