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?

 

[Milan Djabirov]

Occam's Razor - The manbaby @elonmusk was pissed because @RebeccaTinucci would not lay off 10% of her Tesla Charging team, so in a fit of rage, he fired her and her whole team.

Was thinking exactly the same this morning! Him pushing his subordinate director for a steep layoff/cutback, subordinate director pushing back, and the one who’s shown many times to be fairly vindictive in personal interaction in business, showing her who’s the boss! But even this would be too impulsive to be true, or maybe not? I bet there will be new openings in that org very soon. Musk is a stable genius - he’s either right, or will correct his mistake upon realizing he’s not

 

[MobileClimate]

Ill trust Elon to make good decisions and I'm sure new charging sites were planned but the outrageous borderline criminal prices for rent and permits on a new station would be some of the reasoning

 

[KelvinMace]

Was thinking exactly the same this morning! Him pushing his subordinate director for a steep layoff/cutback, subordinate director pushing back, and the one who’s shown many times to be fairly vindictive in personal interaction in business, showing her who’s the boss! But even this would be too impulsive to be true, or maybe not? I bet there will be new openings in that org very soon. Musk is a stable genius - he’s either right, or will correct his mistake upon realizing he’s not

He has a HUGE backlog of unrecognized errors. Twitter is a $44 billion mistake, just to name one off the top of my head.

 

[EatsShoots]

I have watched Musk descend into paranoia and text-book narcissism over the years. This is what you get when you mix a social media echo chamber, wealth beyond the dreams of avarice, and an initially small personality defect.

Conspiratorial alt-right fringe silliness has begun to arrest his mind. This is not something that tends to go away. It is a "progressive" condition.

Musk is a stable genius

Can I assume your post was in jest, given your use of this term?

 

[stopcrazypp]

What stuff are people making up, and what "narrative" are you suggesting they are supposedly "pushing" with these made up facts?

Laying off 500 people is a fact. Tesla not explaining why is a fact. Elon giving fuzzy statements about the future of the SC network is a fact.

The lack of information to Tesla shareholders and Tesla owners being 100% on Tesla is a fact.

There's been quite a few embellishments by the media:
1) that the 500 people was all of the supercharger team (as opposed to a subset). This is in fact even in the title.
2) that this affects maintenance of the network also (not just installations)
3) that this would affect the NACS rollout

There's not enough info yet to determine that. This post in the other thread doesn't source the info, but it suggests the move is a lot less doom and gloom than suggested.

Did Tesla really lay off their entire Supercharger staff

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...

teslamotorsclub.com

 

[terranx]

There's been quite a few embellishments by the media:
1) that the 500 people was all of the supercharger team (as opposed to a subset). This is in fact even in the title.
2) that this affects maintenance of the network also (not just installations)
3) that this would affect the NACS rollout

There's not enough info yet to determine that. This post in the other thread doesn't source the info, but it suggests the move is a lot less doom and gloom than suggested.

Did Tesla really lay off their entire Supercharger staff

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...

teslamotorsclub.com

Source that it is just a subset or that it only impacts new installs (though that’s still a pretty big deal)? All available evidence that I can find points to the contrary. The post you link to is pure speculation.

 

[Milan Djabirov]

Conspiratorial alt-right fringe silliness has begun to arrest his mind. This is not something that tends to go away. It is a "progressive" condition.

Can I assume your post was in jest, given your use of this term?

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).

 

[SSonnentag]

All this business advice from folks without any of the business successes of the one they're criticizing. Amazing!

 

[dipper]

Would not surprise me if he will subcontract to replace some of the team.

It is a Tech company after all. And subcontract workers are getting even more popular than ever.

 

[terranx]

All this business advice from folks without any of the business successes of the one they're criticizing. Amazing!

You can say that about anyone who has criticized any successful company prior to their failure. Ultimately a meaningless statement.

 

[TacoGuy]

what good is the "safest car in history" should the charging network deteriorate and the Service Centers take *weeks* for simple repairs because the CEO is a manchild who fires entire teams in rage and much rather tweet multiple times per day on political issues not even remotely tied to the company he is running?

Owning a Tesla, the safest car in history, with the best charging network in the world, is still better than owning a Fisker. Just sayin'.

 

[terranx]

Owning a Tesla, the safest car in history, with the best charging network in the world, is still better than owning a Fisker. Just sayin'.

The turd I just laid in the toilet is a more competent vehicle than fisker. That doesn’t say much.

And pretty much all vehicles sold today are the safest cars in history. Also a pretty meaningless point.

This whole thread is so active because the concern is that best charging network is no longer a priority and will regress.

 

[DrChaos]

https://www.dea.gov/factsheets/ketamine - I hadn't ever looked up the drug until someone else posted this in another forum in response to this crazy axing.

I think it's actually more consistent with persistent amphetamine abuse. I think he started doing uppers (surely a legal Rx from a shady doctor) around the time of the Model 3 "hardcore" factory ramp. He bragged about how much he was working.

And yes in the short term the drugs will let you stay up and work hard. And they feel great. Longer term though it divorces you from reality and amplifies narcissism and seriously decreases empathy. (The Third Reich's army ran on it). Musk was already naturally inclined in those directions and that *sugar* will amp it up. And coming off of it he will fall into a huge depression as he's blasted out his neutrotransmitters.

Amphetamine Increases Errors During Episodic Memory Retrieval

Moderate doses of stimulant drugs are known to enhance memory encoding and consolidation, but their effects on memory retrieval have not been explored in depth. In laboratory animals, stimulants seem to improve retrieval of emotional memories, but comparable ...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

 

[gearchruncher]

It is a Tech company after all.

This is not a magic get out of jail card for a business, nor is it the right path for Tesla.

Tesla sells cars, and only EV cars. People are weary of EV's for a variety of reasons, charging support being one of those.
Now people find out that EV's are not just cars, but "tech products" and you need to know that the tech changes fast, and your $50K purchase from 3 years ago might not really keep working like a car from Ford would for 10+ years.
Now people are more weary of EV's, and this is bad for Tesla's mission statement of advancing sustainable transportation. It's also a very odd unforced error in the very situation where you have saturated the early adopters and are in the middle of seeing declining sales because you can't get those 90% to buy your EV's.

That's the problem here. 90% of Americans can't afford to buy a car from a company that acts more like a cell phone maker than a car company, and the reduction in charging infrastructure support sure makes Tesla look a lot less attractive to those 90% of buyers. We shouldn't all be happy that Tesla is a "tech" company and just give them a pass for doing whatever whenever.

As someone that bought my first Tesla when there wasn't even a supercharger in my state and struggled with that, I personally was pretty close to ordering a new M3P with the upgraded performance just because it would be fun. I can do that because SC's are fairly ubiquitous and the constant new ones kept making my Tesla vehicles more and more usable. But I for sure am not buying a new one for the foreseeable future if Tesla is being this dynamic and changing things I thought were fundamental advantages to a Tesla over other EV's.

 

[Milan Djabirov]

The attempts to rationalize this action from “analysts” and “industry insiders” are pretty hilarious. E.g.

"Tesla has already been awarded money under the federal government's NEVI program," he said, referring to the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure formula program to provide funding to states to deploy EV charging networks. "There's no way Mr. Musk would walk away from effectively free money. It may be possible Mr. Musk will reconstitute the EV charger team in bigger, badder, more Muskian way”

The Muskian way

 

[terranx]

I think it's actually more consistent with persistent amphetamine abuse. I think he started doing uppers (surely a legal Rx from a shady doctor) around the time of the Model 3 "hardcore" factory ramp. He bragged about how much he was working.

And yes in the short term the drugs will let you stay up and work hard. And they feel great. Longer term though it divorces you from reality and amplifies narcissism and seriously decreases empathy. (The Third Reich's army ran on it). Musk was already naturally inclined in those directions and that *sugar* will amp it up. And coming off of it he will fall into a huge depression as he's blasted out his neutrotransmitters.

Amphetamine Increases Errors During Episodic Memory Retrieval

Moderate doses of stimulant drugs are known to enhance memory encoding and consolidation, but their effects on memory retrieval have not been explored in depth. In laboratory animals, stimulants seem to improve retrieval of emotional memories, but comparable ...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

I try not to speculate too much on patients I can’t physically examine, but I do suspect you’re on the right track. He’s also known to abuse ketamine which is known to increase impulsivity in habitual users.

 

[stopcrazypp]

Source that it is just a subset or that it only impacts new installs (though that’s still a pretty big deal)? All available evidence that I can find points to the contrary. The post you link to is pure speculation.

I've asked the person posting where they sourced it, but on the flip side there is no source that it's the entire team either. Seems to just be an assumption based on the 500 number. I've seen the telephone game played by the media so many times, it's not surprising to me.

 

[DrChaos]

I am surprised more people don't realize that Musk is more robot than human when it comes to emotions - he calculates and makes moves that most people aren't capable of understanding at the moment, but will make sense later.

He used to be like that (2018 and before). Today he is dominated by his emotional swings and narcissistic needs.

He bought Twitter because he was pissed off that some kid was tracking his jet from public sources. "pedo guy" and raging at SEC and tanking Twitter are not part of any long term deep plan.

There are people who try to retcon his decisions as wisdom but fewer and fewer can be so interpreted rationally.

Howard Hughes used to be a business and aeronautical genius. And then he turned insane. Same also with the company's namesake, Nikola Tesla.

Same also with monarch Henry VIII --- though a traumatic brain injury is partly to blame. Elon fried his brain with drugs.

Formerly capable leaders blowing themselves and their institutions up is hardly a new phase in humanity.

 

[Ostrichsak]

Every one is always ready to claim Musk has a method to his madness. Sometimes, especially for those of us who read what he writes on Twitter, it is just madness (and probably drug-fueled madness at that).

Everyone, huh? I don't see a lot of "everyones" in this particular discussion.

Lots of personal attacks over what seems like a business move that you may not agree with. To the point where when someone steps in to say: "maybe we should hold off on our judgement until we at least know any relevant details over what actually happened" is received as a pro-Elon, anti-good things, Hitler supporter who also kicks puppies for even daring to utter such a polarizing thing publicly.

That should be a sign that your stance on something may not be based on reality when someone with a neutral idea on the topic is received as an enemy of freedom & liberty.

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. None of these same people will show up to apologize months from now if/when it's discovered that it was the right move. I've seen it a dozen times.

Once again, let the record show that I'm not fighting with people that it's the right decision. I'm just asking people to keep the door open to that possibility and treating others with respect until we know. That's worthy of attack?

 

[gglockner]

The facts are:

1. Tesla fired an entire [edit: reportedly, most of the] team responsible for a product feature that was a major selling point
2. The entire [edit: reportedly, most of the ] team was fired, full stop [edit: and this is reported to be widely unexpected]
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.

Source: here is the Reuters story, which is generally regarded to be a neutral source: https://www.reuters.com/business/au...rging-team-leaving-customers-dark-2024-04-30/