Tesla fires most of Supercharger team in blow to other automakers

Tesla Inc. has eliminated nearly its entire Supercharger organization, which had built a vast network of public charging stations that virtually every major automaker is in the process of exploiting in the US.

The decision to cut the group of nearly 500 people, including its senior director, Rebecca Tinucci, was made by CEO Elon Musk last week, according to a person familiar with the matter. This is on top of staff cuts of more than 10% ordered in mid-April, the source said.

The move will slow the network’s growth, according to a person familiar with the division, who asked not to be identified discussing private matters. There are already discussions about rehiring some of those impacted to operate the existing network and expand it at a much slower pace, the source said. In a post on X, Musk confirmed that the network’s growth would slow.

The job cuts have left executives at at least one other automaker, Rivian Automotive Inc., confused and worried, according to another person familiar with the company’s internal discussions. Rivian, Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Co. are among the automakers adopting Tesla charging connectors for their battery-powered cars, giving thousands of customers access to Tesla’s charging network.

Vehicles from these automakers were initially designed to use a standard called the Combined Charging System. There are fewer CCS chargers in the US than Tesla Superchargers, which use what Tesla called the North American Charging Standard. Tesla’s infrastructure is also considered faster and more reliable.

The job eliminations mean Rivian, Ford and others have lost their key touchpoints at Tesla’s charging facility just before the busy summer season begins. Tinucci was one of the top executives in building and managing external partnerships and was highly regarded, said two people who worked with her inside and outside Tesla.

Bloomberg confirmed that Tinucci was no longer listed on internal organizational charts as of Tuesday. One of Tesla’s highest-ranking executives, she spoke at the company’s Investor Day in March 2023. She did not respond to requests for comment.

Part of Supercharger’s maintenance team, which manages third-party access to the network, remains intact, according to one of the people. Tesla has been building CCS to NACS adapters in Buffalo, New York, and shipping them to partner automakers. Companies that have signed charging contracts with Tesla primarily use the adapters as a short-term solution. For example, Ford EV customers can now use the Supercharger network with an adapter, and the technology will be incorporated vehicles from 2025.

Rivian and Ford still send adapters to their customers, according to company statements. Ford told its EV owners on Friday, ahead of the elimination of the broader Tesla Supercharger team, that deliveries may be delayed in some cases due to “constraints” with the supplier.

Easy access to high-speed charging is widely seen as key to the adoption of electric vehicles, and Tesla has invested billions of dollars in developing a global network of Superchargers that has been the envy of other automakers. It’s also a critical component of Tesla’s sales, and the automaker said the division was growing during its first-quarter results last week.

“Starting in late February, we began opening our North American Supercharger network to more non-Tesla electric vehicle owners,” Tesla wrote in its shareholder presentation.

The Musk-led company has also signed charging partnerships with automakers including Stellantis NV, Volvo, Polestar, Kia, Honda, Mercedes-Benz and BMW. It’s unclear who will now oversee Tesla’s partnerships with these companies. GM, Volvo and Polestar should open NACS chargers to their customers in the immediate future, according to Tesla’s website.

Tesla had 6,249 Supercharger stations and more than 57,000 connectors at the end of the first quarter. It has more fast chargers in the US than all other suppliers combined, according to BloombergNEF.

Information first reported the Supercharger team cuts, citing a memo from Elon Musk.