President Trump sides with Elon Musk, says Tesla should be allowed to reopen its factory 'NOW'

• President Donald Trump waded into Tesla's fight with California officials on Tuesday.
• CEO Elon Musk has maintained that Tesla should be allowed to operate its factory under the state's guidelines.
• But officials in Alameda County have taken a stricter stance, saying the company can only resume basic operations.
• Tesla on Saturday filed a lawsuit against the county, and on Monday returned to work in defiance of the rules.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

President Donald Trump sided with Elon Musk on Tuesday in his fight with local authorities to re-open Tesla's shuttered car factory in California.

"California should let Tesla & @elonmusk open the plant, NOW," he tweeted. "It can be done Fast & Safely!"

On Monday, Tesla began operations at the Fremont factory in defiance of Alameda County rules saying the factory could not resume work. Musk openly celebrated the return to work and acknowledged the risk attached to the move, saying "If anyone is arrested, I ask that it only be me."

In response, county officials said Tesla was only allowed to resume "minimum basic operations," adding that they hoped the company would comply "without further enforcement measures."

Musk has been extremely critical of state and local shelter-in-place orders meant to curb the spread of COVID-19, calling them "fascist" and "fundamentally a violation of the Constitution." Tesla has attempted to restart its operations several times recently despite public health orders prohibiting it from doing so.

While only essential businesses are currently allowed to operate in California, Gov. Gavin Newsom let some retail and manufacturing businesses open last Friday and said Monday he expected Tesla to start up operations by next week.

"My understanding is they have had some very constructive conversations," Newsom said in a video press conference. "My belief and hope and expectation is as early as next week, they will be able to resume."

However, Newsom also said local governments are allowed to maintain stricter rules if they choose to — which Alameda and several other counties in the Bay Area have done. Tesla filed a lawsuit over the weekend against Alameda county over the stricter regulations.

This story is developing. Check back for updates…

Tyler Sonnemaker contributed to this post.