Entire Supercharging Team Fired?

News yesterday is that the entire 500+ person word-wide SC team has been let go. That is alarming. Why would Elon sack the execs and all the employees of this important part of Tesla's business? Could Tesla be selling the SC network off to a third party? Opinions? Other theories?

 

[texas_star_TM3]

You're assuming the people he fired design supercharger hardware. While that is true, that's the least interesting part of what they do in 2024.

This team identified sites where SC's were needed, worked with local governments, landowners, and power companies to make it all happen. Permits, public meetings, economic plans, traffic flow analysis. They negotiated power rates as economic situations changed. Then once up and running, they made sure the superchargers were maintained and the leasees and governments stayed happy. They modeled demand curves to understand what to charge. They worked with other manufacturers to make NACS a reality.

In the end this team was much more about politics and infrastructure than engineering.

This is not something you can outsource to 500 people in China, nor something that you can just put a random American in charge of and train them in a week or month. It was this literal lived experience that made this team valuable.

I'm deeply concerned about maintenance/upkeep of existing locations with the entire team being fired as well as closing the dozen+ charging deserts in the US... with other EV's coming online and all using NACS ... the demand for SCs will be more, not less.

 

[fhteagle]

If the Supercharger network is allowed to degrade over time, or even stagnate at it's current level of expansion, that's a huge negative hit to the resale value of every existing Tesla, and the sale price of future vehicles.

Ockham's razor is telling me this is just a poorly thought out decision by the TechnoKnave. I've been trying all morning to see some gem of brilliant strategy here, but I don't have the info to tease it out of the bear scat.

Tesla is turning into the new Microsoft awfully quickly.

 

[gearchruncher]

Don't remember the thread, but several months ago I said it wouldn't surprise me Musk shutdown everything and just walked away someday.

That would make for a fascinating story in Business history. Can a CEO and minority shareholder of a public company just shut it down one day?

I mean it would make for an epic lawsuit for sure. I mean it only took one Metal Drummer with 9 shares of Tesla to win the suit removing his $56B pay package...

I don't think even Elon will walk away from $40B+ in shares however, not all at once. He'll tear it down 10% at a time every few months and then ask where it all went and blame something like "wokeness" on the loss.

 

[texas_star_TM3]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1785406795814510785

lol. what does that even mean? Uptime is already excellent and expanding existing locations is very hard. Need a new permit, rip open concrete, install additional cabinets and stalls... and "slower pace for new locations" isn't an assurance I'd take to the bank from "in 2 weeks" Elon. Could well mean that "coming in 2024" on the supercharger map will mean "coming in 2026 or maybe never"

 

[E90alex]

Right when all these other automakers are scheduled to join the Supercharger network is not the time to be slowing the buildout of the network…

 

[gearchruncher]

"Tesla still plans to grow the Supercharger network, just at a slower pace."

I assume next tweet will be: "Looking for 250 hard core street smart electricians to initiate and execute superchargers. No corporate electricians. Send resumes direct to me. Must be willing to fist fight EA and Rivian techs on sight."

 

[brianman]

I don't think even Elon will walk away from $40B+ in shares however, not all at once. He'll tear it down 10% at a time every few months and then ask where it all went and blame something like "wokeness" on the loss.

1. Sell a bunch of shares
2. Throw the money away on some flight of fancy
3. Tell the board you need more shares
4. Repeat

 

[steerbyfsd]

I think I posted this reply in the wrong forum, but here's my hypothesis:
1) Elon and Tesla aren't dumb, they know that good charging networks are highly critical to high levels of EV adoption.
2) They got almost all NA market to adopt NACS while in Europe they followed existing standards that were getting traction eg CCS.
3) They know that it's a team game (with all EV manufacturers) now to get the supercharger network built out (whether in NA with NACS or in other places in the world with CCS or whatever standards become most popular.
4) Supercharging network is a commodity, and a capital and resource intensive business (high capex to build, ongoing maintenance costs to maintain and deploy, dealing with local regulators for permits, etc). Tesla prefers higher margin businesses and ones with greater competitive moat and differentiation (eg FSD, robotaxi, robotics or hardware businesses with a better moat - eg cars, batteries, energy, etc). Heck in the beginning they said they would operate the Supercharger network at break even and not try to make money off it so they clearly initially viewed the supercharger network as a means to enable people to actually buy and use the cars, but not as a strategic source of profit (because in the long run there isn't much profit because they have to buy the energy from a local utility).
5) So they decide to build the hardware and license it (like recent deals they've done with BP and EG) and let other people build out the boring, low margin, capital intensive business that now every car manufacturer that wants to sell EVs is reliant on. Yes they may be walking away from some profit if they were to eventually try to operate charging as a profitable business (especially to non Tesla EVs) but the truth is these margins weren't durable since electricity is a commodity so charging costs should be very much in line with underlying costs.
6) Maybe they continue to build a few locations where needed, or some of the "flagship" locations that are fun/brand halo like the drive in diner, but the boring old regular "gas stations" they lean on others to finish the job they started because there isn't much interesting business in building out the next generation of "gas stations".
7) I wonder if a weird side effect of this is that free supercharging is only available at Tesla operated supercharges and as the network gets built out to maturity by a boatload of other companies, Tesla's liabilities tied to costs of free supercharging go down as more charging gets done at third party operated charging stations which don't honor FUSC.

 

[brianman]

Selling my FUSC vehicle is definitely making more sense with today's news.

 

[gearchruncher]

Elon and Tesla aren't dumb,

Gonna need a citation on that one bud, particularly in 2024 So much evidence that Elon does stuff on a whim without any deep analysis.

So they decide to build the hardware and license it

What team is doing this?

Tesla's liabilities tied to costs of free supercharging

So few Teslas have free SC that it's totally irrelevant. There are maybe 50K of these cars still around out of 2M+ total.

 

[ucmndd]

Looks like one of the Branch Elonians left the TSLA shareholder thread compound to spray a bunch of downvotes

 

[MD70]

If the Supercharger network is allowed to degrade over time, or even stagnate at it's current level of expansion, that's a huge negative hit to the resale value of every existing Tesla, and the sale price of future vehicles.

Ockham's razor is telling me this is just a poorly thought out decision by the TechnoKnave. I've been trying all morning to see some gem of brilliant strategy here, but I don't have the info to tease it out of the bear scat.

Tesla is turning into the new Microsoft awfully quickly.

The main man’s not thought this through.
I suspect he knows sales will be down this year Whilst he is going all in on the RT.
So what do you do to stay in profit or reduce the loss?
Cut everything else.
The problem is this can cause a vicious cycle which will result in even lower sales.

 

[PineNut]

The next thing Elon cancels will be Dragon shuttle service to the ISS. Astronauts now in the ISS will be offered free lifetime supercharging as compensation.

 

[gearchruncher]

LOL. Elon is so confident about this path that he un-followed Sawyer Merritt and WholeMarsCatalog when they posted the email about these layoffs:

Elon Musk breaking up with loyal fans Omar and Sawyer

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, made headlines by unfollowing two prominent Twitter accounts, @WholeMarsBlog (Omar Qazi) and @SawyerMerritt (Sawyer Merritt). These accounts have been known for…

medium.com

 

[E90alex]

I just know they are absolutely devastated because they built their whole personality around being “friends” with Elon online

 

[5465736c614d6f]

Example #32 of why Musk needs to go if Tesla is to survive long term. He has clearly led the team to amazing outcomes, but was also much more stable a decade ago. More recently we've seen nothing but rash moves and missteps borne of psychological issues, if not also substance abuse.

A company of Tesla's size needs a steady hand who can also reliably navigate public and political issues. It needs an inspirational leader. Musk has consistently demonstrated inadequacy on all of these fronts.

Teslas are a wonderful machines, and their mission remains hugely important for society. But it's now clear that Musk is more of a hinderance than help toward that mission. His pay package should be rejected and he should be removed from any official capacity.

 

[VT_EE]

Of course, this could all be resolved by simply having a small PR department - or not having asked Rohan to leave - and then firing his entire team today as well. Anyone that even remotely touches delivering a positive customer experience, by, you know, actually interacting with real Tesla customers, doesn't survive at Tesla it seems. This is how you end up with hundreds of active members on a Tesla forum like this, that aren't happy with the customer experience.

Context is king - and zero context has been provided - toward your point. Running Tesla like a startup company that has 140k employees isn't a wise move by any measure. Decisions have consequences - and while we could argue the merits of shifting the company toward AI/robotics - which long term is likely a good bet - axing profit centers like the SC network overnight while providing zero context - when you just had an investors call last week and had every opportunity to proactively address major upcoming changes surrounding the previously announced layoffs so as to calm the markets and investors - would have seemed the wise thing to do - but I've come to never expect proactive communications from the TechnoKing.

BTW - he also fired the entire leadership team for new vehicles. Again, zero context. Things that make you go hmmmmmmmmmmmm.

Here's the reality. When decisions are made in a vacuum and no context is provided - people as a whole - always assume the worst. The rumor mill goes wild with innuendo and accusation and, well, rumors, most of which could be quelled in advance, by proactively communicating a strategy surrounding layoffs. Saying 10-20% layoffs is one thing, cutting entire departments that seem germane to significant future business revenues - new vehicles and the entire SC network - seems rather rash without context. With context these decisions might make good sense - as you've purported - but my overall point is - context is never given. This is where the Delaware court ruling was absolutely on point - and today's action essentially prove it. An independent BOD would not let this type of thing occur in the rash manner in which it has occurred. The Tesla BOD is in no way, shape, or form independent, not even close. Just my .02!

I think I'm done supporting Musk. I am a fan of what he has accomplished, but his actions recently are unhinged. His treatment of key players in Tesla's success is also disturbing. Sadly, it might be time for Tesla to move on from Musk.

 

[VT_EE]

LOL. Elon is so confident about this path that he un-followed Sawyer Merritt and WholeMarsCatalog when they posted the email about these layoffs:

Elon Musk breaking up with loyal fans Omar and Sawyer

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, made headlines by unfollowing two prominent Twitter accounts, @WholeMarsBlog (Omar Qazi) and @SawyerMerritt (Sawyer Merritt). These accounts have been known for…

medium.com

Man-child with no control over his emotions.

 

[terranx]

Elon's tweet that they'll focus on 100% uptime of existing charging locations and expanding those doesn't make me feel better .... because expanding existing locations isn't that easy and there's still plenty routes out there i presently can't drive in my Model 3 AWD. Dallas-Ft.Worth to Ruidoso / NM for example. Charging desert after Lubbock ....

Also comes across as bullshit since he just fired everyone who would be relevant towards maintaining that uptime and expansion.

 

[jedarius]

Example #32 of why Musk needs to go if Tesla is to survive long term. He has clearly led the team to amazing outcomes, but was also much more stable a decade ago. More recently we've seen nothing but rash moves and missteps borne of psychological issues, if not also substance abuse.

A company of Tesla's size needs a steady hand who can also reliably navigate public and political issues. It needs an inspirational leader. Musk has consistently demonstrated inadequacy on all of these fronts.

Teslas are a wonderful machines, and their mission remains hugely important for society. But it's now clear that Musk is more of a hinderance than help toward that mission. His pay package should be rejected and he should be removed from any official capacity.

Couldn't have said it better myself.