Elon Musk's firing from the Tesla Supercharger team raises concerns about the future of the electric car industry

While headcount adjustments are inevitable, Musk's decision to fire Rebecca Tinucci's entire Supercharger team — while simultaneously investing $10 billion this year alone in an AI strategy — has sparked confusion and bewilderment among the ranks of the Tesla community that believed in the company. one day. Electric vehicle sales will grow tenfold from current levels by 2030.

“What does this mean for the charging network, [Tesla’s proprietary charging standard] “I don't know yet about NACS, and all the exciting work we've been doing across the industry,” wrote Will Jameson, Tesla's former head of strategic charging programs, who confirmed a report by The Information. “If Tesla gives up the charging crown, who will step up?”

But also what a unique opportunity for the industry to tap into the talent and expertise newly available in this area. If Tesla cedes the charging crown, who will step up?

-Wiljamson (@willjamson) April 30, 2024

Musk's Supercharger network has long been viewed as an unbeatable asset that would insulate Tesla from competitive pressures. Especially in North America, which is a latecomer to electric vehicles, no other brand has had access to such an extensive and reliable network of fast chargers.

The process was also seamless: all Tesla owners had to do was plug in, and everything else was taken care of on the back end – a premium, hassle-free experience that set a market standard.

Musk's decision to cancel the team has deepened the rift among supporters of Tesla's stated mission Accelerating the emergence of sustainable transport And Musk's aides, who chose not to question the CEO who built the world's most valuable automaker from scratch — against all odds.

The latter argues that Tesla is able to take its foot off the accelerator now that the rest of the American industry has adopted its plug-in and charging standard to give its customers access to its network.

There is still a lot of heavy work to be done

In response to critics' concerns, Musk indicated that he believes it is time to adopt a different approach.

“Tesla still plans to grow the Supercharger network, but at a slower pace for new locations and more focus on 100% uptime and expanding existing locations,” he wrote on his social media platform, X.

Tesla still plans to grow the Supercharger network, but at a slower pace for new locations and more focus on 100% uptime and expanding existing locations.

– Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 30, 2024

However, challenges remain, as the other half of the US electric vehicle market, which Musk does not control, relies on existing Tesla vehicles. third generation Chargers and launching the new 4G service.

Competing models are not compatible with the Supercharger V1 and V2 available at 12,000 stations nationwide, which means waiting at stations for those who need the newer ports.

Christoph Stürmer, an electric mobility expert at the Berlin-based Charging Interface Initiative (CharIN), disputed the idea that the hard part for Tesla is over, especially since more automakers will now point their U.S. customers to its Superchargers.

“Heavy lifting hasn't been done since electric vehicles Less than 2% of the current fleet In the United States, 98% of areas still need to be electrified, and the investments required will be enormous luck.

“Tesla's charging business needs to serve twice as many customers, while complexity will effectively quadruple as it seeks to accommodate a range of different brands. So its team needs more resources — not less.”

Tesla did not respond to luck Request for comment.