- Elon Musk reportedly overruled plans to lay off 15-20% of the Supercharger team and fired most of the department, including its leader.
- Tesla is now trying to rehire some of the laid-off Supercharger staff, but the success of these efforts is unclear.
- Former Supercharger team members express concern for the network’s future after the mass layoffs.
There’s no question that it was a shock when Tesla axed practically all of its Supercharger team in April. It’s clear that the electric automaker isn’t having another bumper crop year, but the move seemed very extreme. Now, a new report says that CEO Elon Musk himself made the decision because he felt like the cuts planned by Supercharger boss Rebecca Tinucci weren’t big enough.
During a meeting referenced in a report from Reuters, Tinucci seemed confident that Musk would endorse her plan, which included cutting 15-20 percent of the team. Contrary to her expectations, sources indicate that Musk did not support her proposal, leading to her dismissal along with her team of over 500 members. As a result, Tesla is now grappling with the aftermath of these decisions.
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According to Reuters, multiple sources with knowledge of the situation detailed the meeting, having heard about it from Supercharger department managers. To put it simply, there’s no clear-cut way to know exactly how things went down but none of it sounds good.
A letter from a Tesla global supply manager indicated that Supercharger contractors and suppliers should “please hold on breaking ground on any newly awarded construction projects” and stop materials purchases. The letter acknowledged the difficulties posed by these changes, adding, “I understand that this period of change may be challenging, and that patience is not easy when expecting to be paid!”.
Musk has since promised to spend $500 million on the network this year.
Of course, to accomplish the work that comes along with such a big bill, Musk has to have staff. To that end, it seems as though he and Tesla are already backtracking and trying to get some employees to return. How successful that effort is won’t be immediately obvious. What’s clear is that Tesla is in the midst of a large-scale shift.
After one of its worst quarters ever, Musk appears dead-set on winning at the robotaxi game. It’s openly admitted that it’ll cut around 10 percent of its workforce globally and has begun new initiatives aimed at increasing the bottom line. Full Self-Driving is less expensive than ever before and comes on every new Tesla (except Cybertruck) with a demo period. The Model Y now is available in a software-range-limited version too.
All of this is happening as former Supercharger team members say that they expect the network to deteriorate. That’s very bad news for a brand that has staked much of its claim to success on how easy it is to charge.
