Elon Musk says workers must use paid-time-off day for Juneteenth

Elon Musk said Juneteenth is a holiday from now on at his two biggest companies, though workers will need to use a paid-time-off day to celebrate.

Elon made the announcement in a series of tweets posted hours before a peaceful protest is scheduled to take place at the electric-car company’s lone US auto assembly plant. (REUTERS)

Elon Musk said Juneteenth is a holiday from now on at his two biggest companies, though workers will need to use a paid-time-off day to celebrate.

The chief executive officer of Tesla and Space Exploration Technologies Corp. made the announcement in a series of tweets posted hours before a peaceful protest is scheduled to take place at the electric-car company's lone US auto assembly plant.

Tesla and SpaceX's handling of the day, which marks the effective end of US slavery, is the latest example of the stark differences in approach across corporate America to commemorating the historical event. Other major companies, including J.C. Penney Co. and Spotify Technology SA, are giving their workers a paid day off.

Earlier Friday, Tesla employees in the US received an email from the company's head of North American human resources saying they could take an unpaid day off to observe Juneteenth. 

Two current employees told CNBC they found it offensive Tesla informed them of the option only today and after many staff already arrived for their shifts.