A hot potato: Elon Musk, never one for obeying authorities, thinks his latest act of defiance could land him in jail. The Tesla boss said production at the company's Fremont, California factory was restarting, going "against Alameda County rules." Musk added that if anyone is arrested for this action, it should be him.

Musk yesterday tweeted that the factory was opening. "I will be on the line with everyone else," he wrote in his post. "If anyone is arrested, I ask that it only be me."

Musk has already let his displeasure with Alameda County be known, having last week announced that Tesla had filed a lawsuit against the state. The automaker has asked a court to invalidate the shelter-in-place orders stopping its factory from reopening.

While California relaxed some of its shelter-in-place orders last week, Almeda County kept its restrictions in place, with local orders taking precedence over those from the state. The situation saw Musk threaten to leave California for Texas or Nevada.

Reuters reports that in an internal email, Tesla referred to an order by California's governor that allows manufacturers to resume operations. It also said furloughed workers were back to their regular employment status as of Sunday.

"We're happy to get back to work and have implemented very detailed plans to help you keep safe as you return," read the email."Furlough Has Ended And We Are Back To Work in Production!"

Alameda County health officials said they were aware that Tesla was operating beyond minimum basic operations and had notified the company that it could not operate without a plan approved by the county.

"We have notified Tesla that they can only maintain Minimum Basic Operations until we have an approved plan that can be implemented in accordance with the local public health order," the department said.

"We are addressing this matter using the same phased approach we use for other businesses which have violated the order in the past, and we hope that Tesla will likewise comply without further enforcement measures," the statement continued.

Anyone violating the county's lockdown orders could face fines, imprisonment, or both.

Musk spoke out against the virus lockdown last month, calling it "fascist" and "forcibly imprisoning people in their homes."