Tesla’s removal of charging department raises concern as electric vehicles from other automakers join the grid

DETROIT (AP) — Elon Musk’s decision to fire the department responsible for Tesla’s electric vehicle chargers has sparked concerns in the auto industry that electric vehicles from other manufacturers will have trouble joining Tesla’s network.

Several leaders of Tesla’s Supercharger team posted messages on social media saying they were told Monday night that an entire group of about 500 people had been laid off by CEO Musk, who appeared to confirm the move in a Tuesday post on X, the social networking site he now owns. .

“Unfortunately, the charging organization at Tesla no longer exists,” Lane Chaplin, who identified himself as a former leader of Tesla’s real estate acquisition to charge in North America, said on LinkedIn.

Tech news site The Information, The New York Times and others reported that Musk informed managers about the layoffs in an email.

Cutting the charging department raised questions in the industry about whether adding electric vehicles from other automakers would work without staff to support the addition of vehicles made by other automakers. But Ford, the first in the industry to register with Tesla, He said his plans to join have not changed.

General Motors was a little more cautious. “We continue to monitor the situation regarding changes to Supercharger equipment and potential impacts,” he said in a statement.

Nearly every other automaker selling electric vehicles in the U.S. has signed up to join Tesla’s Supercharger network, which has the most plugs of any network in the country. It also has stations strategically located along interstate highways and other travel corridors. Tesla has 2,261 fast charging stations nationwide with 25,491 plugs, according to the Department of Energy.

The opening of the network was considered a major victory for Tesla, which would earn additional income from owners of electric vehicles purchased from other companies. Expanding access to the grid, which was previously only accessible to Tesla owners, also helped allay fears that there were not enough charging stations for electric vehicle owners to travel without running out of power. The industry also moved to the Tesla charging plug, which has now become the standard.

Sam Abuelsamid, senior electric mobility research analyst at Guidehouse Insights, said Musk’s decision is puzzling because dismantling the charging department comes just as hardware and software from other automakers are being integrated into Tesla’s network. “To do that and maintain it, you need to have people who can go out and keep the hardware running and the software running,” he said.

There is a significant risk that Tesla’s network will become less reliable, as electric vehicles from other automakers will have difficulty communicating with chargers, Abuelsamid said.

Musk, he said, may see the Supercharger network as a source of losses despite opening it to other automakers, so he is cutting expenses there in an effort to restore profit margins, which have been reduced as sales of electric vehicles have slowed.

There are significant costs of electricity, of installing new chargers and of maintaining the grid and keeping it reliable, Abuelsamid said.

A message was left Wednesday seeking comment from Tesla on the impact of the cuts.

On Tuesday on

Musk has been cutting employees in an effort to Reduce costs amid declining sales. and slowing demand for electric vehicles. Earlier this month, the company said it would lay off about 10% of its global workforce of 140,000.

Tesla shares fell 1.2% in midday trading on Wednesday. Its stock has fallen more than 27% so far this year, but it made a small rebound last week after the company’s first-quarter earnings conference call.