Elon Musk has dismantled the part of Tesla that was responsible for building electric vehicle charging stations, creating uncertainty over the future of America's largest and most reliable charging network.
The layoffs of hundreds of Tesla employees, many of whom posted on social media on Tuesday, echo the conversations Tesla CEO Musk had last year with leaders of General Motors, Ford Motor Co. and other automakers. This has raised questions about the agreement that allows the sale of cars that have been sold. Manufactured by other companies for use with Tesla Supercharger stations.
Tesla's agreements with other electric car manufacturers ensure that buyers can find fast chargers during road trips, addressing one of the main reasons many people hesitate to buy an electric car. This was seen as a coup for Musk, legitimizing Tesla's technology and giving Tesla greater influence in the auto industry.
Nearly every major manufacturer has announced plans to switch their vehicles' hardware and software to be compatible with Tesla chargers. Ford is mailing older electric car owners an adapter that connects to a Tesla charger.
“Ford's plans for our customers remain unchanged,” Ford spokesman Martin Gunsberg said in an email.
The sudden firings of the Supercharger team caught many off guard and suggested that Mr. Musk may have changed his mind about the company's strategy in ways that aren't yet obvious to outsiders.
Andres Pinter, whose company installs chargers for Tesla, said he was stunned to learn Tuesday morning that about 20 people he worked with on construction projects had been laid off. He said emails sent to those Tesla employees bounced back with an automated message saying those addresses were no longer valid.
“I think this is a shocking reversal from where we've been fully committed to the Supercharger network,” said Tom, co-chief executive officer of Austin, Texas-based Barrett EV Charging Solutions, the same company as Tesla. Mr. Pinter said. Until Tuesday, Tesla was asking Barrett to expand into other states and move as soon as possible, Pinter said.
Tesla did not respond to a request for comment.
Many of the laid-off Tesla employees publicly discussed the layoffs. Mr. Musk “gave away our entire charging organization,” said William Navarro Jameson, Tesla's senior manager of charging operations. said in X. “I still don’t know what this means for the charging network, NACS, and all the exciting work we were doing across the industry.”
NACS (North American Charging Standard) was developed by Tesla and has a reputation for being a reliable and easy-to-use charging technology.
The latest layoffs come two weeks after Tesla announced it would lay off 14,000 people globally, as the company continues to regain confidence in the company since it announced last week that first-quarter profits fell 55%. This upset some investors.
Tesla shares fell about 5% Tuesday afternoon, but are still up about 13% since Thursday. Musk has said in recent weeks that despite a decline in car sales, Tesla still has significant growth potential with products based on artificial intelligence and self-driving technology.
The charging network is seen as a key element of Tesla's dominant position in the electric vehicle market. When Tesla started selling its first sedan, the Model S, in 2012, there were few fast chargers. Tesla has built its own network of over 2,600 fast chargers in the United States. In many areas these are often the only chargers available.
George Bahadew, another senior manager in the charging division, wrote on LinkedIn in a message to other team members who also lost their jobs: “You made EV adoption possible.” Ta.
By making its network available to other manufacturers, Tesla has opened up a potentially lucrative recurring revenue stream. But Musk also took away exclusive access to the network, which was one of the perks of owning a Tesla.
The company is a major beneficiary of federal funding to build charging networks and is unlikely to stop building chargers altogether. As other automakers, including Hyundai and Ford, chip away at Tesla's market share, Musk says it's not in Tesla's interest to build more chargers to help rivals sell cars. He may have decided.
Some employees have expressed bitterness after being laid off, raising the risk that sudden layoffs will lower morale among those remaining at the company.
“If you had told me a month ago that Tesla would be the kind of company that would only notify people with over 10 years of experience who helped make the company what it is today with an email saying, 'Dear Employee.' “In the middle of the night,'' former charging department employee Lane Chaplin wrote on LinkedIn. “I'd say you're crazy.”
ryan mack Contributed to the report.