Billionaire Elon Musk – the chief executive of Tesla and SpaceX – is prominent for dropping surprises at regular intervals. But still, Tesla’s sudden move to fire most of its Supercharger division has predominantly shocked the electric vehicle industry.
That’s because the Texas-based automaker is not just popular for the number of cars it sells. It delivered approximately 8% of the public charging capacity demanded across the globe in 2023, according to BloombergNEF. That’s a pretty big deal.
Tesla’s move introduces chaos. Experts concerned
In a letter to senior executives on Monday, Musk said he is ready to ask any executive retaining more than three people who don’t pass the excellent, necessary and trustworthy test to resign. But Rebecca Tinucci tried to fire lesser employees than he asked for, reported Elecktrek.
Tinucci is the executive in charge of the Supercharger division. In response, the chief executive decided to fire almost all of her 500-person team as “an example”. The move has sent ripples through the gigantic and rapidly evolving EV industry, to say the least.
Reports suggest Tesla has backed out of four leases for upcoming Supercharger stations in The Big Apple (NYC) and several suppliers have lost their points of contact. The move has been heavily criticised as it introduced sizeable changes to the sector.
Experts have also raised concerns over charging anxiety – or range anxiety. It is regarded as one of the biggest issues holding back consumers from buying EVs. Quickly building more infrastructure is seen as one of the best methods to address those concerns.
Tesla Supercharger division part of long list of layoffs
On Tuesday, Musk confirmed that Tesla seeks to “grow the Supercharger network, just at a slower pace for new locations and more focus on 100% uptime and expansion of existing locations.” It reportedly has already considered rehiring some of the laid-off employees.
The latest layoffs ensure that at least 14,500 Tesla employees have been fired since April, but the real figure could be over 20,000. Last month, Tesla announced plans to cut “more than 10%” of its 140,000-person strong global team. But Musk had apparently pushed for about 20%.
