Tesla CEO Musk announces slower charging network expansion
On his platform ‘X,’ Musk writes: “Tesla still plans to grow the Supercharger network, just at a slower pace for new locations and more focus on 100% uptime and expansion of existing locations.”
On Tuesday, it became known that the electric car manufacturer would further downsize its workforce after the previously announced layoffs of around ten per cent of Tesla employees worldwide. The portal The Information wrote that it would affect the Supercharger division, citing an internal email from Tesla CEO Elon Musk to senior employees. The rumours later confirmed that Rebecca Tinucci, Senior Director of the Supercharger business, had been dismissed – along with most of her team – or possibly even of it. That is where it gets blurry.
“Hopefully these actions are making it clear that we need to be absolutely hard core about headcount and cost reduction,” Musk reportedly commented on the move. “While some on exec staff are taking this seriously, most are not yet doing so.”
Musk’s latest social media post states that the expansion will continue at a slower pace and that the manufacturer will focus on existing locations. However, it remains completely unknown with which staff. It seems that as for now, there is no one left for the job. As a result, four planned Supercharger locations in New York City will be cancelled, according to Inside EVs.
Meanwhile, Reuters obtained reactions from GM and Ford, among others, who, like several other car manufacturers, want to adopt Tesla’s charging standard (NACS). Apparently, they will stick to their decision for the time being. “We have nothing new to announce regarding our plans,” GM said. “We are continuing to monitor the situation regarding changes to the Supercharger team and the potential impacts with no further comments or updates at this time.”
According to Electrek, Rebecca Tinucci was a leading force in initiating the NACS deals signed last year with Ford, GM and other car manufacturers. On LinkedIn, she still lists her position as ‘Sr Director of EV Charging at Tesla.’ Rumour has it that some of those fired could subsequently be rehired. Whether there is any truth to this remains to be seen.
It has been known for several weeks that there is trouble brewing under the Tesla roof. The company presented declining sales and business figures for the first quarter. Shortly before this, it was announced that Tesla was making more than 14,000 employees redundant at short notice, including entire teams working on “critical projects.” At the same time, several top managers resigned. Tesla’s Head of Engineering Drew Baglino confirmed his resignation in a social media post, as did the aforementioned former Head of Policy Rohan Patel. According to the Electrek portal, Anthony Thurston, Senior Manager of Cathode Materials & Manufacturing, also had to leave.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has so far only commented publicly on the planned job cuts in a tweet: “About every five years, we need to reorganize and streamline the company for the next phase of growth,” he wrote on X in the middle of the month.
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