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?

 

[DuncanM]

Kyle Conner gives some insights:

 

[Ostrichsak]

The facts are:

1. Tesla fired an entire team responsible for a product feature that was a major selling point
2. The entire team was fired, full stop
3. Since there is no Tesla PR, the only sources of information are tweets from the CEO and LinkedIn profile updates

Hopefully Tesla will maintain current Superchargers and install new ones with the same design, but it's safe to assume there will be no innovation on Superchargers for the foreseeable future. My opinion is that this is another example how Musk is unfit to lead Tesla today, but history has shown that my opinion is not shared by the Tesla board of directors.

Care to cite the source of it being "the entire team. full stop" ??

If the claim is supported by verifiable facts... this is the type of info I'm looking for instead of the click bait that's being parroted by those with an ax to grind that it feels like.

Otherwise don't present your theories and thoughts as if they're fact.

 

[TomServo]

Can someone define "entire team" as reported in the media? Is the factory that manufactures the hardware in NY still operating, and are the folks that install and maintain them still on the payroll? The monitoring is probably automated.

So who got fired?

 

[gglockner]

Care to cite the source of it being "the entire team. full stop" ??

If the claim is supported by verifiable facts... this is the type of info I'm looking for instead of the click bait that's being parroted by those with an ax to grind that it feels like.

Otherwise don't present your theories and thoughts as if they're fact.

Fair points that I said "all" instead of most. Now corrected.

That said, the 3 bullet points I gave (now that they are corrected to no longer claim it was the entire Supercharging team) are reported widely enough that it's fair to assume they are facts.

A few sources in no particular order:

• Reuters
• New York Times (subscription required)
• Wall Street Journal (subscription required)
• Marketwatch

 

[DuncanM]

Can someone define "entire team" as reported in the media? Is the factory that manufactures the hardware in NY still operating, and are the folks that install and maintain them still on the payroll? The monitoring is probably automated.

So who got fired?

According to a video released by a Tesla SC installation contractor regional Tesla employee south-eastern SC site selection/install team was laid off in the initial 10% staff cuts and their workload transferred to the 500 Tesla staff headquarters team, and they in turn were all terminated on Tuesday this week.

 

[gearchruncher]

I'm just asking people to keep the door open to that possibility and treating others with respect until we know.

Which is he exact opposite of how Elon lives his life.

Care to cite the source of it being "the entire team. full stop" ??

Nobody is denying that every single person under Tinucci was fired. The email says that, people's updates on LinkedIn say that, people on Reddit that were fired say that. Elon is not disputing the leaked email, in fact is pissed it was leaked and is trying to say supercharging will somehow magically continue but is not saying a core team was kept. Tinucci's job description was:

Responsible for managing Tesla's global, charging-related business units including our Supercharging and Destination Charging businesses, as well as our Charging equipment sales units. Manage and lead a team of 450+ employees who, with partner teams, has successfully scaled our Charging businesses, welcomed non-Tesla vehicles, substantially improved Network financials, decreased customer wait-time, and launched multiple new products and features. Engage with Company leadership to identify, plan and execute all Charging-related programs, like those linked below.

You did read the NYT article, right? The one where it says:

On Monday, in an email to employees that was reviewed by The New York Times, Mr. Musk said he would dissolve the “entire group of approximately 500 people” that had worked on building new Supercharger stations. In that message, he said the company would finish stations under construction and build some new ones “where critical.”

What are you even defending? You're basically trying to say that the story from the outside does look awful, but because we don't know everything, we should assume the best. And that not knowing is on us, the customers, when it could be resolved by a single tweet by Elon: "Misreported. We did not fire the whole team. Focusing on more efficient supercharger roll out team. Will still be the leader in DC fast charging." But no, we don't get that, but somehow that's on us for overacting while we're OK with Elon tweeting about how immigrants are bad (not him of course) and how you can subscribe to X to support free speech in the last 24 hours instead of spending his time managing messaging around Tesla's widely reported firing of a critical team.

That just makes Elon look like an awful CEO, and is not the burn on irrational owners that you think it is.

Is this the stuff you think the CEO of Tesla should be posting instead of messaging what is going on with the charging team?

https://twitter.com/x/status/1785406096804315305

 

[ucmndd]

Imagine when it becomes acceptable to attack the voice of reason for merely asking for civility until we know the facts. Like that guy is somehow the enemy because he doesn't blindly support the witch hunt efforts.

Willfully ignoring reams of evidence that suggest an ongoing escalation of an alarming pattern doesn’t automatically give you the moral high ground or claim to the voice of reason. The problem is it’s very difficult for anyone paying attention to see such “neutrality” as anything other than thinly veiled attempts to act as an apologist, and there’s no “reason” in ignoring observable reality to mount a white knight defense.

 

[Ostrichsak]

Willfully ignoring reams of evidence that suggest an ongoing escalation of an alarming pattern doesn’t automatically give you the moral high ground or claim to the voice of reason. The problem is it’s very difficult for anyone paying attention to see such “neutrality” as anything other than thinly veiled attempts to act as an apologist, and there’s no “reason” in ignoring observable reality to mount a white knight defense.

Asking that we wait to take up the pitch forks and torches until we actually know what happened and treat others with civility is the very definition of being the voice of reason. Nothing thinly veiled about it.

 

[terranx]

Asking that we wait to take up the pitch forks and torches until we actually know what happened and treat others with civility is the very definition of being the voice of reason. Nothing thinly veiled about it.

No one is raising pitchforks. We are discussing a company in decline and what that means for the future of the ownership experience. We choose not to willfully ignore evidence.

 

[ucmndd]

Asking that we wait to take up the pitch forks and torches until we actually know what happened and treat others with civility is the very definition of being the voice of reason. Nothing thinly veiled about it.

There are no threats of violence or mob mentality on display here. Your assertion that there is is another tell of the white knight.

We know what happened, it's plainly obvious and reported on by countless sources at this point. The only way you can maintain your feigned neutrality is to place some unachievably high and constantly moving bar on what constitutes "proof" that you will ultimately never be satisfied with.

Which, in a nutshell, is why it's hard to take your argument seriously or see you as anything other than an Elon apologist. Own it maybe?

 

[Ostrichsak]

No one is raising pitchforks. We are discussing a company in decline and what that means for the future of the ownership experience. We choose not to willfully ignore evidence.

What evidence? I've asked multiple times and so far I get a bunch of posts of how Elon is a drug addict and a nazi sympathizer and single handedly responsible for all of the evil in the world. I've yet to see a single scrap of evidence other than 500 people from the Supercharging team was let go. That's all we know. I didn't ignore it simply because I choose to not freak out and lose my mind about it.

The rest of this BS is just conjecture about what this means for the future of Tesla and why he should be fired over it when nobody actually knows but wants to present their assumption(s) as facts. It's mind numbing. For those that have been here long enough to remember, imagine me of all people being labelled as a Tesla/Elon apologist simply because I dared to ask for more verifiable info and question those to rushing to assumptions w/o it. I guess that's how you know things have gotten bad.

 

[DBV1]

Wow - this is really bad. So, if every carmaker is converting to NACS and Tesla is not expanding the Supercharging extensively, then what does this mean for the future of EV’s? I love my Model S and EV’s and thought would never go back to ICE, but if this is really happening, why would anyone buy an EV now? Probably should dump my Model S now and just go back to ICE, before resale value plummets even more.

What happened to all the Billions that Biden was handing out to build out infrastructure. Can anyone trust what Elon is doing now? If Tesla is struggling, how will any EV manufacturer make it.

 

[zroger73]

So, if every carmaker is converting to NACS and Tesla is not expanding the Supercharging extensively, then what does this mean for the future of EV’s?

The NACS connector is still superior to the CCS connector with or without Tesla.

The industry would be foolish not to adopt it.

 

[terranx]

What evidence? I've asked multiple times and so far I get a bunch of posts of how Elon is a drug addict and a nazi sympathizer and single handedly responsible for all of the evil in the world. I've yet to see a single scrap of evidence other than 500 people from the Supercharging team was let go. That's all we know. I didn't ignore it simply because I choose to not freak out and lose my mind about it.

The rest of this BS is just conjecture about what this means for the future of Tesla and why he should be fired over it when nobody actually knows but wants to present their assumption(s) as facts. It's mind numbing. For those that have been here long enough to remember, imagine me of all people being labelled as a Tesla/Elon apologist simply because I dared to ask for more verifiable info and question those to rushing to assumptions w/o it. I guess that's how you know things have gotten bad.

It’s widely reported by every media outlet, the emails in question directly state the elimination of entire departments in an effort to force other executives to reduce their personnel. I’m not going to google for you. If you wish to continue your willful ignorance to make yourself feel better about your investments’ outlook, that’s on you.

 

[DBV1]

The NACS connector is still superior to the CCS connector with or without Tesla.

The industry would be foolish not to adopt it.

Totally agree. What does that have to do with my post? If every other mfg is adopting NACS and will use the supercharging network, then the announcement that Tesla fired the whole Supercharging team is terrible news. You have to expand not sit tight. Just a crazy, stupid move. Tesla and US Govt would have to be crazy to not to build NACS out more quickly.

I think any EV companies, like Tesla that received the billions that the US Govt gave them to build out the supercharging network and then do stuff like this should be sued and forced to give back the money if they don’t follow thru. Just stealing.

Think of the car mfg’s that came around to NACS and now Tesla does this. What a cluster.

 

[TacoGuy]

Musk has achieved exactly what he intended. The world is guessing and Elon's ego is left with the fuel in what has to be the best cliff hanger since the "Who shot JR" episode of Dallas aired 1980.

 

[Ostrichsak]

It’s widely reported by every media outlet, the emails in question directly state the elimination of entire departments in an effort to force other executives to reduce their personnel. I’m not going to google for you. If you wish to continue your willful ignorance to make yourself feel better about your investments’ outlook, that’s on you.

Feel better about my investments? Swing and a miss! Better quit while you're behind.

 

[zroger73]

Totally agree. What does that have to do with my post? If every other mfg is adopting NACS and will use the supercharging network, then the announcement that Tesla fired the whole Supercharging team is terrible news. You have to expand not sit tight. Just a crazy, stupid move. Tesla and US Govt would have to be crazy to not to build NACS out more quickly.

I think any EV companies, like Tesla that received the billions that the US Govt gave them to build out the supercharging network and then do stuff like this should be sued and forced to give back the money if they don’t follow thru. Just stealing.

Think of the car mfg’s that came around to NACS and now Tesla does this. What a cluster.

Tesla gave the industry a better connector regardless of the brand of equipment it is used on. They could never install another Supercharger and other EVs would still benefit.

Who cares what brand name appears on the charging equipment as long as it dispenses electricity into the vehicle?

Do you look for the brand names on gasoline dispensers and prefer those manufactured by Gilbarco Veeder-Root or maybe Dover or Tokheim?

 

[EatsShoots]

yeah I guess it is a reference to a proposed act of congress bearing the same name regarding the mental fitness of presidential candidates. I’m fairly convinced Musk is not emotionally stable, but he’s likely a genius too, but past performance is not always a great predictor of future as is often the case with stocks and humans alike (e.g. John Nash’s early scientific contributions, though Musk is not as medically clear-cut case of mental health deterioration).

I had not heard of this act, though its source material I had. I looked up where the idea came from on wiki

 

[CarGo]

So from a product management standpoint, the SC network is what is known as a competitive differentiator or a distinctive competency. Whether we want to realize it or not, MANY people bought Tesla's because of the SC network itself, not because they particularly love the vehicle itself. We fell into this bucket. I actually "like" the look of other BEVs better than Tesla vehicles, but when it came to ease of use and public charging infrastructure, at least last year, I would not have considered buying any other BEV for this reason alone.

Specific to the contract clauses and verbiage - it all depends on the clauses whether there are violations of terms and conditions. This is speculation on my part and hopefully legal reviewed these decisions prior to Musk announcing them, but we've seen a pattern in the past of Musk making personnel decisions without following proper legal protocols (WARN anyone?) for example, so I won't be surprised if there are downstream impacts to what occurred yesterday along this line.

My bigger picture concern is that, for people like me, who bought their Tesla with the SC network as a primary key differentiator, if this changes, then I'm more likely to consider other BEVs. I get that it's likely a commodity business now - the SC network - and therefore not attractive to continue to grow it out - but if Tesla cannibalizes future demand in the process - when the fact is that Musk clearly posted that these layoffs were due to falling sales volume and cost cutting resulting from lower demand - and then you go and eliminate an entire department that may turn off both existing early adopter Tesla owners who may not buy another Tesla, along with traditional buyers who already clearly indicate that the two biggest concerns are range anxiety and public charging network availability - why cut the one department that directly addresses the two biggest concerns prospective buyers have? The logic escapes me with this in mind.

I think that competitive differentiator boat has sailed when Tesla opened up the supercharger network. There is just no incentive for tesla to improve the network anymore because it no longer to their benefit. Supercharger is a slow growth utility and Tesla has a finite amount of money to deploy. They are going all in on AI and that will be the differentiator going forward. $10B on FSD is not chump change even for Tesla especially in a slower market. Big picture is that Tesla will be an AI company with cars as a product amongst other products such as Optimus. Right or wrong, I think that is the direction they are going. As a tesla owner, does that make me upset? Of course. I bought a Tesla for their charging network and seeing they will no longer expand at the pace they were going sucks especially as they open up to other manufacturers.