• by Tanya Gazdik , April 30, 2024

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has reportedly dismissed more than 500 employees from the automaker’s Supercharger network team, as well as additional employees from the new vehicle development program. 

“Between the repeated layoffs and disinvestment in new products and charging—at a time when its network figures to be under more stress than ever before—it seems Tesla is preparing for much worse than a temporary EV market downturn," notes The Drive.

Those who were cut include Rebecca Tinucci, senior director of EV charging (overseeing the Supercharger program) and Daniel Ho, director for new vehicles and new product introduction.

“Everyone under both executives, which total around 500 people in charging alone, is also reportedly being shown the door,” per The Drive. “The public policy team formerly headed by departed exec Rohan Patel is also reportedly being dismissed.”

The layoffs were initiated by Musk in an email to senior managers, reports The Information.  

Musk is reportedly trying to counterbalance Tesla's sales slumps with "hard-core" job cuts.

Many of those let go posted on social media about the unceremonious dismissal, according toThe New York Times.

“Musk ‘has let our entire charging org go,’ William Navarro Jameson, a senior manager at Tesla’s charging operation, said on X. “What this means for the charging network, NACS, and all the exciting work we were doing across the industry, I don’t yet know.”

Lane Chaplin, another former Tesla employee, posted about the layoff on LinkedIn.

“If you would have told me a month ago that Tesla was a company that would notify people, some with 10-plus years of experience, who helped build the company to what it is today with nothing more than a ‘Dear Employee’ email in middle of the night, I would have said you’re nuts,” Chaplin wrote. 

The layoffs come two weeks after Tesla said it was firing 14,000 people worldwide. Tesla shares closed about 5% lower on Tuesday afternoon, though they are still up around 13% since Thursday.

“The charging network is regarded as a key element in Tesla’s dominant position in the electric vehicle market,” per The New York Times. “There were hardly any fast chargers when the company began selling the Model S, its first sedan, in 2012. Tesla built its own network of more than 2,600 fast chargers in the United States. They are often the only chargers in many regions.”