Musk disbands Tesla’s EV Supercharger team, blindsiding carmakers that agreed to use the standard
- General Motors, Ford and other carmakers, which struck deals last year to give customers access to the network, said they are not changing their plans
- With Tesla sales falling, Musk could be cutting Supercharger network spending to conserve cash for other projects with more growth potential, analysts said
Elon Musk’s abrupt decision to lay off employees who ran Tesla’s electric vehicle charging business blindsided carmakers gearing up to equip new EVs for customers to use the Tesla Supercharger network, industry officials and analysts said on Tuesday.
For now, General Motors, Ford and other carmakers, which struck deals last year to give customers access to the network, said they are not changing their plans.
Tesla’s decision to open its network to rival EV manufacturers was hailed by US President Joe Biden, and opened the door for Tesla to get federal subsidies to expand the reach of its North American Charging Standard (NACS) system.
Musk’s decision to dismiss the head of the business, Rebecca Tinucci, and most or all of the staff that operated and maintained the system, according to two former employees and multiple postings on LinkedIn, left officials at carmakers and Tesla suppliers uncertain about the future.
Tesla did not respond to requests for comment.
Musk subsequently said on X that the carmaker still plans to expand the Supercharger network, “just at a slower pace for new locations and more focus on 100 per cent uptime and expansion of existing locations”.
Andres Pinter, co-CEO of Bullet EV Charging Solutions, a supplier to the network, said, “As contractors for the Supercharger network, my team woke up to a sharp kick in the pants this morning.”
“Tesla has already been awarded money under the federal government’s NEVI programme,” he said, referring to the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure formula programme to provide funding to states to deploy EV charging networks.