Written by Reananda Hidayat PermonoCompleted Master of Science - MS, Petroleum Geology from Curtin University, Perth, Australia.
California Governor Gavin Newsom and CEO Elon Musk announced that Telsa’s new HQ will be at the former office of Hewlett-Packard.
The relationship between Tesla and California government seems surprising after the automaker moved its corporate HQ from Fremont,
California to Texas in 2021 due to disputes over Covid-19 restrictions.
Musk also criticized California for being over-regulated and charging high taxes.
However, Tesla keeps operating its first factory in Fremont, along with its engineers.
Furthermore, the company tweeted that it’s opening more engineering roles in California, with a focus on research development and artificial intelligence.
Newsom is backing the automaker’s investment by saying California has been a place for new ideas and innovation.
He expressed his excitement to work with Tesla to reinforce California’s manufacturing dominance and transform the automobile industry.
Musk said his Fremont factory will produce more than 600,000 cars this year.
Tesla also explained that it will focus on battery cell production to take advantage of federal incentives in the Inflation Reduction Act.
Despite the good news about its California factory, Tesla has a complicated relationship with the state.
Tesla is facing a lawsuit from the Civil Right Department of California because of complaints from workers that racial bias and harassment occurred at the Fremont factory.
The state’s Department of Motor Vehicles also accused Tesla of advertising its Autopilot and Full Self-Driving systems falsely.