What’s going on: Tesla suspends production of two important car models, Elon Musk is planning a new $1,000 billion plan?

According to employees, production shutdowns used to be quite rare at Tesla.

Tesla plans to halt production of the Cybertruck and Model Y at its Austin factory for a week starting the week of June 30, according to information obtained by Business Insider. This would be at least the third production shutdown in the past year.

In an internal meeting in early June, the company informed employees that the line would be shut down for a week for maintenance, after which production would resume. During the shutdown, workers could take paid leave or participate in voluntary training and cleaning sessions at the plant.

Tesla said the shutdown was to perform maintenance and upgrades to production lines, which are expected to increase capacity, although the company did not specify which lines would be improved.

In parallel with the production shutdown, Tesla is also preparing to launch a robotaxi service in Austin. CEO Elon Musk said the first rides will be in the Model Y, with plans to deploy 10 to 20 vehicles for testing.

Tesla did not comment when asked about the production stoppage.

Tesla has halted production at its Austin plant twice in the past 12 months. In late May, the company halted production of the Cybertruck and Model Y to conduct volunteer training sessions, including workshops on workplace culture. In December, production of the Cybertruck was halted for three days due to a battery shortage, according to employees. In April, Tesla further reduced production of the electric pickup truck and reassigned some workers to other jobs.

Summer production shutdowns are not uncommon in the auto industry. Many automakers use this time—when sales are down—to perform maintenance on systems, upgrade production lines, or address inventory and parts shortages.

For example, Ford halted production of the F-150 Lightning for seven weeks in the fall of 2024. During the chip shortage crisis in 2021, both Ford and GM had to halt production at several factories.

However, production shutdowns used to be quite rare at Tesla, according to four workers who spoke to Business Insider.

Tesla is expected to release second-quarter delivery figures in July. In the first quarter of 2025, the company reported a 13% year-over-year decline in sales. As of March 20, fewer than 50,000 Cybertrucks had been delivered to customers, according to a voluntary recall notice.

Tesla introduced an upgraded version of the Model Y – its best-selling vehicle – in January this year.

All eyes are now on the robotaxi project, which Elon Musk claims could generate $1 trillion in revenue for Tesla. On June 10, Elon Musk said Tesla “tentatively expects” to begin offering self-driving services in Austin starting June 22.

“We are very cautious about safety, so the launch date may change,” Musk shared on social network X.

By June 28, he said, test vehicles could drive themselves from the factory to customers’ homes.