BERLIN, May 7 (Reuters) - Tesla will suspend

production at its Gruenheide plant near Berlin on Friday, the EV

maker confirmed on Tuesday following a newspaper report that

said the company was shutting down the factory for four days.

There will be a "one day planned production shutdown" at the

plant on May 10, the factory's manager, André Thierig, said on

social media X, formerly Twitter.

No production activity is carried out at the factory on

weekends and Thursday is a public holiday in Germany.

Earlier in the day, German newspaper Handelsblatt

reported that the electric car manufacturer would shut down

production at its German plant for four days due to protests

against its expansion plans.

Tesla has asked all employees who work at the plant to

work from home on Friday, according to an email, seen by

Handelsblatt, that the company sent staffers on Monday.

Production will end with the late shift on Wednesday this

week and begin again with the night shift on Sunday,

Handelsblatt reported. Access to the factory will only be

possible with manager approval, it added.

Tesla's ambitions to expand its German plant hit a roadblock

in February when citizens voted against a motion to raze trees

and make way for a larger site.

Activists have announced several protests against Tesla's

expansion for the coming week, including a rally in front of the

factory gates on Friday.

Tesla's sales in the European Union fell 5% in the first

quarter of this year from a year earlier, lagging the battery EV

market's 4% growth during the period, according to data from the

European Automobile Manufacturers' Association.