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Tesla Inc. said the drop in pollution during coronavirus-related shutdowns could embolden governments that already have been making plans to eventually ban vehicles that run on fossil fuels.

Shares of Nikola Motor Co. surged 104% to a record in its third day of trading on the Nasdaq after a merger with VectoIQ Acquisition Corp.

Electric carmaker Tesla dropped a federal lawsuit against Alameda County filed less than two weeks ago after resuming manufacturing at its Fremont plant against local orders.

Tesla Inc. told employees that a California county health official has now signed off on safety measures the company took last week at its car plant as it restarted production in defiance of the area’s shutdown order.

Police visited Tesla Inc.’s sole U.S. car plant May 13 to assess whether the electric car maker was adhering to safety protocols agreed to with the county that Elon Musk publicly said he would defy earlier in the week.

Alameda County officials said May 12 they have agreed to allow Tesla to reopen as early as next week if the auto manufacturer agrees to certain safety conditions.

Alameda County officials sent a letter to a top Tesla safety employee May 11 ordering the company to cease manufacturing at its Fremont, Calif., plant, the strongest step local government has taken to check the electric car maker’s defiance of health orders.

Elon Musk said Tesla Inc. is flouting the California county that has blocked its efforts to reopen its only U.S. car plant by restarting production at the facility.

Tesla Inc. asserts that restarting its operations in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic doesn’t make the company an outlier, nor is it going against the grain.

Tesla Inc. plans to reopen its sole U.S. car factory as soon as May 8, possibly setting up another battle with local health authorities in California.