Tesla has started hiring back some key employees of the roughly 500 Supercharger team members Chief Executive Elon Musk laid off in late April 2024, Bloomberg reports, citing people with knowledge of the matter.
Tesla rehires its Director of North American Charging
As EV-a2z reported, Tesla dismissed the entire Supercharger team late last month. The layoffs affected two key executives, including North American Charging Director Max de Zegher and Charging Team Senior Director Rebecca Tinucci.
Now, Tesla seems to backtrack on some of the recent layoffs, as per the unnamed sources. One of the employees who have returned is de Zegher.
The total number of rehired Supercharger team members remains unclear as CEO Musk and Director de Zegher have not yet commented on the news.
Max de Zegher also maintained his position as the North American Charging Director at Tesla on his LinkedIn page. He significantly contributed to Tesla’s success in the electric vehicle charging space in the region.
Tesla Supercharger network’s key role
Many Tesla investors and fans were disappointed with CEO Elon Musk’s move to dismiss the Supercharging team.
Their dismay is unsurprising, considering that the Supercharger network plays a crucial part in Tesla’s success in the electric vehicle industry.
Tesla’s enormous and reliable Superchargers substantially improve the electric vehicle ownership experience, prompting more people to pick Tesla EVs over other OEMs.
However, CEO Musk decided to open the network to over 15 electric automakers in North America through NACS adoption.
CEO Musk reiterates Supercharger expansion plans despite layoffs
Despite the ongoing layoffs that affected the entire Supercharger team, Chief Executive Elon Musk remains committed to expanding the charging network. However, the pace for new locations will be slower than originally planned.
“Tesla still plans to grow the Supercharger network, just at a slower pace for new locations and more focus on 100% uptime and expansion of existing locations.”
Tesla CEO Elon Musk
The Tesla boss also asserted the electric automaker’s plans to invest more than $500 million for the Supercharger network expansion in 2024.
“Just to reiterate: Tesla will spend well over $500M expanding our Supercharger network to create thousands of NEW chargers this year. That’s just on new sites and expansions, not counting operations costs, which are much higher.”
Tesla CEO Elon Musk
The sudden return of some Tesla Supercharger team employees seems heavily crucial for the company to ensure the expansion of its charging network and defend its dominant position in North America’s electric vehicle charging industry.
