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Tesla is still committed to expanding its Supercharger network despite laying off the entire charging team, Elon Musk said on X.
The EV creator will move at a “slower pace” when building out new Supercharger stations, the Tesla chief added. Instead, it will concentrate more on expanding existing locations and improving uptime.
Musk didn’t provide more details. Tesla shut down its communications team years ago and wasn’t available for comment.
The reassurance came just a day after Tesla sacked its entire Supercharger team, including Senior Director Rebecca Tinucci. That, in turn, followed more extensive layoffs that slashed roughly 10% of the company’s workforce.
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
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 30, 2024
Tesla struggled in the first quarter of 2024. Both deliveries and revenue fell sharply. The automaker pinned the shortfall on a number of challenges that included shipping diversions and arson at Gigafactory Berlin. However, it was also dealing with a softer EV market that led Ford, GM and other competitors to shift their focus to hybrids.
The statement may help assuage buyers worried that the demise of the existing Supercharger team would lead to a complete freeze on expansion. The attention to capacity and reliability could be important at a time when EV chargers are increasingly crowded.
Even so, the scaled back output could be a problem in the future. Ford, Honda, Volkswagen, and other major rivals are all adopting Tesla’s NACS charging standard in North America. While that will eventually help shoulder the load as third-party chargers adopt the format, it could lead to a near-term crunch as more drivers top up at Superchargers.
