SAN DIEGO — Democratic San Diego Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez issued a strident response to Tesla's CEO Elon Musk's threats to relocate his company's headquarters out of California over coronavirus restrictions.
"F*ck Elon Musk," Gonzalez said in a tweet posted Saturday night.
Her tweet came moments after Musk threatened to relocate the company's San Francisco Bay Area electric vehicle factory and headquarters.
On Sunday, Musk issued a two-word response to Gonzalez's statements: "message received."
In a blog post on Tesla's site titled "Getting Back to Work," the company said it was suing Alameda County officials who have stopped the company from reopening. While the state's manufacturers have been allowed to resume production, Alameda County's health officials have kept Tesla closed.
Musk said he would move Tesla's headquarters to Texas or Nevada "immediately" if county officials don't allow him to reopen his business. The CEO said he'll consider ending manufacturing activity at the Fremont Factory, depending on how "Tesla is treated in the future."
"I'm not messing around. Absurd & medically irrational behavior in violation of constitutional civil liberties, moreover by *unelected* county officials with no accountability, needs to stop," tweeted Musk.
The technology entrepreneur and engineer received over 60K likes for his tweet in about 24 hours.
One person that didn't hit the like button was Gonzalez.
"California has highly subsidized a company that has always disregarded worker safety & well-being, has engaged in union busting & bullies public servants," Gonzalez posted on Twitter Sunday morning, hours after posting her first explicit tweet about Musk.
"I probably could've expressed my frustration in a less aggressive way. Of course, no one would've cared if I tweeted that," said Gonzalez.
Gonzalez, who represents the 80th Assembly District in southern San Diego County, declined to comment further to Musk's threats saying she would be spending time with her kids for Mother's Day.
She told Scripps station KGTV in San Diego that her "tweets speak for themselves."
Meanwhile, Gonzalez's husband, San Diego County Supervisor Nathan Fletcher, posted a message on his personal Twitter account Sunday afternoon reminding men to use the Mother's Day holiday as a time to reflect on the strength of all women.
Fletcher specifically targeted the male Twitter users who "routinely tell me 'get your woman in check,' 'tell your wife to shut up,' etc.'"
"Maybe on this #MothersDay you can reflect on the reality that women are not a subservient species waiting for a man to tell them what to do," said Fletcher.
Fletcher signed the tweet, "Mr. @LorenaSGonzalez."
Tesla's 370-acre Fremont Factory, south of Oakland, employs over 10,000 people from around the Bay Area. The company has made its " Return To Work " plans public on its site calling them "comprehensive safety measures we have introduced to ensure employee safety."
This story was originally published by Mario Sevilla on KGTV in San Diego.
