Did Tesla really lay off their entire Supercharger staff

[stopcrazypp]

The hardware does not work without the software? I’m not taking about the software team that works on teslas own software.

The supercharger team was responsible for working with the other automakers to get their cars and back end software compatible with the Supercharger network. How does that happen for the remaining automakers that don’t have access yet now that the supercharger team is gone?

#1 we don't know that the software team that authorizes other automaker use is the same as the supercharger team
#2 the rumor doesn't say that the entire supercharger team is gone. It says 500 were gone, but we don't know how much that is relative to the whole team. Again, as mentioned upthread, obviously members of the team would still need to remain or be rehired to maintain the existing network, so why is there an assumption everyone is gone?

I'll repeat a third time, I'm solely talking about the value of the current physical network and why it still makes sense to continue on. I'm not talking at all about a situation of them stopping work completely on the software. In the worst case, they can use the manual magic dock app authorization method instead of plug-and-charge. That is already compatible with all CCS EVs, with no need of software on the cars.

 

[stopcrazypp]

Ya think?!!!

Didn't the big E say Tesla wasn't a car company it was a tech company?

As to economics of fast DC chargers, I know they cost a lot to install but they charge more than plenty of margin on the power they sell.

Seems like you should make bank when you sell power for 5 or 6 times what you pay for it even if the upfront investment is up there. Pretty sure they won't be paying rent on the carpark spaces.

Ongoing maintenance may be killing it otherwise?

Almost none of the DC charge networks are profitable relying on pay-per-use fees, even with higher per stall utilization rates than Tesla. They need other forms of revenue like subscriptions.
You are also forgetting about demand charges and other fixed fees that need to be paid to the power company on top of the per kWh rate.

 

[Webeevdrivers]

Apparently maintenance and installation people not affected. This was primarily those who scouted new stations, legal people for setting up leases, accounting people for paying and tracking leases and section heads. People from that group have already said it was a bloated department. There are lots of completely finished superchargers that are awaiting hookup to the grid 6 months or more after completion. Sounds like a serious problem to me.

Plus they are switching to a pre fab model where superchargers arrive on a truck at the new location. Maybe a good time to clean house.

 

[KelvinMace]

The rumor before this rumor was that the Model 2 was being scrapped....that turned out not necessarily true. So I would wait for more information

The rumor was that the $25K EV had been scrapped. That rumor turned out, even when Musk said it wasn't. Once it blew up in his face, he backtracked and said they would develop cheaper cars, i.e. cars less expensive than now, but NOT the $25K model as he had promised earlier. File that along with the $35K Model 3 and the $40K CT we never got.

 

[Ostrichsak]

The rumor was that the $25K EV had been scrapped. That rumor turned out, even when Musk said it wasn't. Once it blew up in his face, he backtracked and said they would develop cheaper cars, i.e. cars less expensive than now, but NOT the $25K model as he had promised earlier. File that along with the $35K Model 3 and the $40K CT we never got.

Inflation is a MF.

 

[KelvinMace]

Inflation is a MF.

He never delivered the $35K M3, when inflation wasn't a factor. Also, inflation has not been THAT high. The top spec CT went from $80K to $100K.

 

[stopcrazypp]

The rumor was that the $25K EV had been scrapped. That rumor turned out, even when Musk said it wasn't. Once it blew up in his face, he backtracked and said they would develop cheaper cars, i.e. cars less expensive than now, but NOT the $25K model as he had promised earlier. File that along with the $35K Model 3 and the $40K CT we never got.

Nope the rumor was not about $25k specifically, it was about scrapping Model 2 entirely. For example, the C&D refers to it as sub-$30k, noting the $25k price tag was back in 2020.

https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a60428602/tesla-model-2-affordable-ev-canceled/

 

[KelvinMace]

Nope the rumor was not about $25k specifically, it was about scrapping Model 2 entirely. For example, the C&D refers to it as sub-$30k, noting the $25k price tag was back in 2020.

https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a60428602/tesla-model-2-affordable-ev-canceled/

Again, sub $30K, is $29,999, not $25K. And the fact that it was in 2020 doesn't excuse Musk. He never publicly repudiated the promise.

 

[stopcrazypp]

He never delivered the $35K M3, when inflation wasn't a factor. Also, inflation has not been THAT high. The top spec CT went from $80K to $100K.

$25k when Elon talked about Model 2 in 2020 is now $30,268.13. Inflation is sky high.

CPI Inflation Calculator

 

[stopcrazypp]

Again, sub $30K, is $29,999, not $25K. And the fact that it was in 2020 doesn't excuse Musk. He never publicly repudiated the promise.

I'm not talking about excusing Musk, just that your characterization of the rumor is wrong. The rumor was about cancelling the entire model in favor of robotaxies, it was not about $25k specifically. That turned out to be false, no matter if it may be because Elon saw the negative reaction of the stock market.

 

[Ostrichsak]

He never delivered the $35K M3, when inflation wasn't a factor. Also, inflation has not been THAT high. The top spec CT went from $80K to $100K.

Orly? That's news to me. Tesla too, apparently:

$35,000 Tesla Model 3 Available Now | Tesla

www.tesla.com

Here's a picture from 8-months ago... after inflation was invented:

 

[KelvinMace]

$25k when Elon talked about Model 1 in 2020 is now $30,268.13. Inflation is sky high.

CPI Inflation Calculator

One more time, but read it slowly, I said he never delivered on the $35K M3 when inflation was NOT a factor, and inflation was THAT high in the case of the CT. Also, when Musk made the promise, he didn't not say "well, $25K, adjusted for inflation".

 

[Ostrichsak]

One more time, but read it slowly, I said he never delivered on the $35K M3 when inflation was NOT a factor, and inflation was THAT high in the case of the CT. Also, when Musk made the promise, he didn't not say "well, $25K, adjusted for inflation".

But he delivered it when inflation WAS a factor which is even more challenging for a target price point so... what is it that you're trying to say here?

 

[KelvinMace]

But he delivered it when inflation WAS a factor which is even more challenging for a target price point so... what is it that you're trying to say here?

The inflation rate between 2016 and 2018 was negligible. And again, he NEVER qualified his remark saying "well, $35K adjusted for inflation". Also, I left out the word "not" in the sentence "and inflation was not THAT high in the case of the CT.

 

[HitchHiker71]

The rumor before this rumor was that the Model 2 was being scrapped....that turned out not necessarily true. So I would wait for more information

Well, considering he also fired Ho, who heads up all new vehicle product development, how sure are you that what he said on the investors call was actually true? Or is he just placating the skeptics as part of a bigger play to buy himself time on robotaxi? Only time will tell...

 

[Ostrichsak]

The inflation rate between 2016 and 2018 was negligible. And again, he NEVER qualified his remark saying "well, $35K adjusted for inflation". Also, I left out the word "not" in the sentence "and inflation was not THAT high in the case of the CT.

You said he never gave us the $35k Model 3. That statement simply isn't true regardless of inflation rate.

 

[Bouba]

Is it possible that with Tesla’s transition to AI and it’s ever increasing super computing power, that the supercharger software team were no longer needed ?

 

[Ostrichsak]

Is it possible that with Tesla’s transition to AI and it’s ever increasing super computing power, that the supercharger software team were no longer needed ?

The stated mission initially was to accelerate the transition to sustainable energy usage. With one of their cars being the #1 selling vehicle in the world proving BEV could be the best solution among all solutions thereby forcing the hand of the established manufacturers to produce several BEV models as well as adopting NACS as a defact-o universal solution simplifying charging for consumers and assuring that all manufacturers going forward would be responsible for the further build-out of the charging network... one could argue they've done that already.

If so, any ongoing cost, especially in a slipping economy, is a liability.

Once again, I'm not willing to state that as fact because we don't know. In this vacuum of fact though, it could certainly be a reason. Nobody knows though so I'm not sure how so many can be so sure on either side of this fabricated debate. It's wild how many people are speaking from absolution on one side or the other though seemingly from a place of knowledge of anything other than the very basic, high-level info that we currently have. That alone is the story here.

 

[father_of_6]

He never delivered the $35K M3, when inflation wasn't a factor.

Actually, there was a $35k M3 for a time, before pandemic inflation. It might have been "off menu" for a while too, with the lowest price on the website at $38k... but there definitely was a $35k RWD M3 before 2020.

 

[KelvinMace]

Actually, there was a $35k M3 for a time, before pandemic inflation. It might have been "off menu" for a while too, with the lowest price on the website at $38k... but there definitely was a $35k RWD M3 before 2020.

Agreed, I had forgotten about the "say the secret password and give the secret handshake and you can buy a $35K model stripped of all options". Hardly in the spirit of the original promise, but Musk is all about technicalities these days.