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Tesla Inc. eliminated almost its entire Supercharger organization, which has built a vast network of public charging stations that virtually every major automaker is in the process of tapping into in the US.
The decision to cut the nearly 500-person group, including its senior director, Rebecca Tinucci, was made by Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk in the last week, according to a person familiar with the matter. It comes in addition to the more than 10% staff cut ordered in mid-April, the person 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 in order to operate the existing network and grow it at a much slower rate, the person said. In a post on X, Musk confirmed network growth would slow.
The job cuts have left executives at at least one other automaker, Rivian Automotive Inc., confused and concerned, according to another person familiar with internal company discussions. Rivian, Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Co. are among the carmakers adopting Tesla’s charging connectors for their battery-powered cars, giving thousands of customers access to the Tesla charging network.
Vehicles from those 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 has 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 main points of contact in Tesla’s charging unit shortly before the kickoff of the busy summer driving season. Tinucci was one of the main executives building and managing outside partnerships and was thought of highly, two people who had worked with her inside and outside of Tesla said.
Bloomberg confirmed that Tinucci was no longer listed…
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