Tesla told workers at its Gigafactory Berlin to stay home Friday after environmental activists said they would protest outside the facility.
Tesla announced Tuesday that all work would stop late Wednesday and restart late Sunday. Thursday is a holiday in Germany, so Tesla employees will have four days off.
Andre Thierig, senior manufacturing director at the Berlin plant, confirmed the shutdown on X. He said with the protests in mind, Tesla decided to shutter the factory Friday out of concern for worker safety.
The activist group Disrupt in January said it would protest against a planned expansion of the Gigafactory, a move by the electric vehicle company that the protesters say will destroy valuable land and put further strain on the region’s water supply.
German police will oversee the protests, which are expected to go from Thursday through the weekend. No buses or trains will run to the factory.
This is the second time this year Tesla is closing operations at its biggest European facility. In March, a group of environmental extremists claimed responsibility for an explosion that destroyed an electricity pylon that supplied power to the Gigafactory. The attack caused Tesla to shutter the factory for a week.
Activists have also been camping out in the forest surrounding the factory since the start of the year.
• Vaughn Cockayne can be reached at vcockayne@washingtontimes.com.
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