Elon Musk's decision to lay off most of Tesla's 500-strong electric vehicle (EV) charging team, with the exception of some reassigned workers, has “blindsided” other automakers that depended on the company's infrastructure. Tesla for their new EVs, industry officials and analysts said. Reuters Tuesday.
General Motors, Ford and other automakers who signed agreements to power their EVs with Tesla technology were preparing to make new EVs for customers to use with Tesla's 50,000+ global charging stations.
According to Reuters, these companies are not changing their plans – although they may be uncertain about the future of the network and surprised by Musk's decision to cut the team.
The fired team is also “in complete shock,” a source said Axios.
The Tesla electric car was plugged into a Supercharger station. (Photo by Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images).
Internal emails received from information AND Electrek Late Monday it documented Tesla CEO Elon Musk informing executives that nearly all of Tesla's electric vehicle charging team would be laid off the next day.
“In the middle of the night, I learned, along with all of my Tesla Global Charging colleagues, that Tesla Charging org is no more,” Lane Chaplin, Tesla's former head of real estate in North America. has written Tuesday.
Rebecca Tinuccithe senior director leading the global charging team who had been at Tesla for six years, and Daniel Hoan executive who managed the Model S, 3 and Y, led the new vehicle program and worked at the company for a decade were also part of the cuts announced in the email.
The Tesla teams they led, along with the group under Tesla's former public policy Rohan Patel who left the company earlier this month, will disband, according to The Information. It is unclear how many employees worked under Ho and Patel.
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Musk went to X on Tuesday to state that “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.”
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
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 30, 2024
Tesla is single largest recipient of federal electric vehicle charging grants under a bipartisan infrastructure law of 2021. Tesla has received about 13% of all grants awarded so far under the law — more than $17 million.
Tesla demanding work culture has received scrutiny in light of recent layoffs, with many employees talking for their dedication to the company. Musk himself has spoken about his work ethic and extends from 100 hour weeks.
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