Tesla CEO Elon Musk has dissolved its entire Global EV Charging Infrastructure team, raising uncertainties about the future of its charging network and ongoing projects in the industry.
Will Jameson, who was part of the now-disbanded team, expressed both shock and opportunity, noting on X, “What a wild ride it has been,” and pondering the potential for other industry players to absorb the skilled workforce now in transition.
Confirmed – @Tesla @elonmusk has let our entire charging org go. What this means for the charging network, NACS, and all the exciting work we were doing across the industry, I don't yet know. What a wild ride it has been.
— willjameson (@willjameson) April 30, 2024
The decision comes on the heels of a memo from Musk emphasizing the necessity of “being absolutely hardcore about headcount and cost reduction.” As part of this broader initiative, Rebecca Tinucci, the senior director of the Supercharger group, and Daniel Ho, head of new products, have also departed from the company.
The Information leaked Musk’s apparent Monday night memo, which was shared by popular Tesla observers @SawyerMerritt and @WholeMarsBlog. Apparently that move didn’t jive with Musk, as he unfollowed both accounts on Tuesday morning.
This move is part of a larger trend at Tesla, which includes laying off 2,688 employees at its Giga Texas factory and about 400 jobs at its Giga Berlin factory, roughly 3% of that facility’s workforce. These cuts were disclosed through a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) notice, complying with U.S. labor laws that require a 60-day notice for mass layoffs or plant closures for companies with over 100 employees.
The job reductions align with Tesla’s strategy to pare its workforce globally by over 10%, a measure Musk describes as a preparation for the company’s next growth phase despite current challenges like falling sales and an ongoing price war in the EV industry.
Tesla’s Supercharger network has been one of its biggest advantages. This is changing with the opening of the network to non-Tesla EVs in Europe, and also the North American Charging Standard (NACS). What will Tesla do next to expand Supercharging? Maybe the company is planning a new way to expanding the network faster than before? Nonetheless, ‘wartime Elon’ continues…
“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,” said Musk later on Tuesday.