Editor's take: Tesla is planning to shut down production of its Model S and Model X electric vehicles for a period of 18 days starting later this month. Given the popularity of the Model 3/Y over the Model S/X, it's no surprise to see Tesla take a break from manufacturing for the holidays.
Employees were notified of the decision on Friday, according to an e-mail to affected team members that was seen by CNBC. Per the notice, the last day of work before the shutdown is December 23. December 24 and December 25 are paid holidays, as are December 31 and January 1.
Tesla is offering impacted employees one week of full pay (January 4 through January 8), with plans to return everyone to work on January 11.
That only leaves a few days (December 28 through December 30) of unpaid time off, although staffers can use PTO during this period or volunteer to work other shifts in different departments.
Tesla in its most recent earnings report said it produced 16,992 Model S/X vehicles during the third quarter, accounting for just 11.7 percent of total vehicle production. The other 128,044 vehicles that rolled off the assembly line were Model 3/Y variants.
Image credit Sundry Photography, Tesla Autobots