- The workers behind Tesla’s Supercharging stations are being laid off, BI beforehand reported.
- Musk mentioned following the cuts that Tesla will continue to grow its charger community “at a slower pace.”
- Tesla will now concentrate on “100% uptime and expansion of existing locations,” Musk mentioned.
Shortly after information broke that Tesla could be shedding one other spherical of workers, together with the workforce behind the corporate’s Supercharging community, CEO Elon Musk took to social media to reassure house owners and buyers that the charging stations aren’t going wherever.
“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,” Musk wrote in a put up on X.
Tesla nonetheless plans to develop the Supercharger community, simply at a slower tempo for brand spanking new places and extra concentrate on 100% uptime and enlargement of current places
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 30, 2024
Despite Musk’s assurances, Tesla has already begun pulling out of leases for upcoming stations in New York, EV information outlet Electrek reported.
The firm at present operates 57,579 Superchargers at 6,249 places globally, the outlet reported.
Even probably the most die-hard Tesla followers have been disheartened by the information. Commenters on Musk’s put up have been fast to name his announcement “kinda lame” and urged him to rethink, arguing that a big charging community is essential to selling widespread adoption of electrical automobiles nationwide.
“This is a goddamn disaster. Superchargers need to be Tesla’s second top growing sector outside of FSD,” Troy Meekhof, who runs the positioning The Cybertruck Guy, which covers the Cybertruck and different EVs, wrote in response to Musk’s put up. “You’re opening up the network to practically every EV driver on the continent without building with urgency? I’m honestly floored at this decision.”
Meekhof informed Business Insider that, as an proprietor of two Tesla automobiles, he is very aware of Superchargers and referred to as them “damn near magical,” saying they work each time with out fail and the stations he visits are hardly ever full. However, he mentioned, complete sections of the nation and his house state of Michigan are utterly off-limits to him and his automobiles “simply because of the lack of charging options.”
“I’m generally apt to trust Musk’s maniacal whims because they’re indicative of a more complex longer-term plan, but destroying the division responsible for what I believe is their single greatest achievement in North America is simultaneously shocking and bewildering,” Meekhof informed BI, including he is “certainly looking forward to seeing what this broader plan is, but at face value, I’m alarmed.”
The newest spherical of Tesla layoffs, introduced by Musk through e-mail late Monday, embrace Rebecca Tinucci, senior director of the corporate’s Supercharger group, and Daniel Ho, head of recent merchandise, BI beforehand reported. While some workers could also be reassigned, the Supercharging workforce, about 500 workers sturdy, will probably be dissolved.
The cuts come after Tesla’s lukewarm earnings report final week, which included an 8.7% year-over-year income drop in Q1, its earnings per share lacking consensus forecasts, and the corporate’s free money move dropping 674% year-over-year to damaging $2.5 billion.
Representatives for Tesla didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark from Business Insider.