"Everyone is in complete shock": Tesla cuts Supercharger employees
“Everyone is in complete shock”: Tesla cuts Supercharger employees
Tesla is laying off the workers in its Supercharger division, calling into question the direction of the company’s charging strategy at a time when EV advocates say further expansion is needed.
Why it matters: CEO Elon Musk has long described the company’s Superchargers — the world’s largest EV charging network with more than 50,000 plugs — as a competitive advantage and key to EV sales growth.
Driving the news: The company laid off EV charging boss Rebecca Tinucci and substantially all of her 500-person team, a person familiar with the cuts confirmed to Axios.
- “Everyone is in complete shock,” the source tells Axios.
- The Information and EV enthusiast site Electrek first reported the cuts, citing internal communications.
- Musk and other Tesla officials did not immediately respond to requests seeking comment.
Context: Tesla has been cutting workers in droves this month, having already announced a move to slash more than 10% of its workforce.
- “The way to think about it is any tree which grows, it needs pruning,” CFO Vaibhav Taneja said last week on an earnings call. “This is the pruning exercise which we went through.”
- “We’re not giving up anything that is significant that I’m aware of,” Musk added, saying Tesla had become too inefficient and that “it is time to reorganize the company for the next phase of growth.”
The intrigue: A slew of automakers recently struck deals with Tesla to allow their EVs to charge on the company’s network, including General Motors, Ford, Toyota, Rivian and Volvo.
- “Ford’s plans for our customers do not change,” Ford spokesperson Marty Günsberg said in an email to Axios.
- The other automakers had no immediate comment Tuesday or didn’t respond immediately upon request.
What we’re watching: Musk reportedly said in his internal email that Tesla will continue to build some new Superchargers and will complete those already under construction.
The big picture: Access to charging is widely seen as critical to promoting the adoption of EVs.
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