Tesla plans to invest half a billion dollars in its charging network in 2024
On the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, Musk wrote: “Just to reiterate: Tesla will spend well over $500M expanding our Supercharger network to create thousands of NEW chargers this year. That’s just on new sites and expansions, not counting operations costs, which are much higher.”
The background to this is that at the end of April, following the firing of around ten per cent of Tesla employees – there were increasing indications that the Texan electric car manufacturer was further downsizing its workforce. The portal “The Information” wrote that this time it would affect the Supercharger division, among others, citing an internal email from Tesla CEO Elon Musk to senior employees. The rumours were later confirmed that Rebecca Tinucci, Senior Director of the Supercharger business, had been dismissed along with the majority of her team.
According to a social media post by Musk at the beginning of May, the expansion will continue at a slower pace and existing locations will be given greater focus. He has now added a new twist, stating that “thousands” of new charging stations are to be created this year after all. It remains completely open as to which staff will be involved. According to rumours, some of those made redundant could subsequently be rehired under different conditions. It remains to be seen whether this is true. According to Electrek, Rebecca Tinucci was a leading force in the initiation of the NACS deals signed last year with Ford, GM and other car manufacturers. Until last week, she listed her position on Linkedin as “Sr Director of EV Charging at Tesla”. A few days ago, however, she confirmed her resignation there.
Meanwhile, there is a “sign of life” from the Supercharger division on social media. After a long period of silence, the following post was published on 10 May: “Since 2012, Charging has been a pillar of Tesla’s mission, providing dependable freedom to travel. Supercharging is the largest network globally, with the highest capital + operational efficiency, and we will continue to sustain & grow the network. Thank you to site hosts & suppliers for your patience as we restructure internally!”
It has been known for several weeks that things are bubbling 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 via 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.
2 Comments