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A Tesla charging station in a parking lot in Santa Monica, California, pictured in September 2022.
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CNN
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Tesla has abruptly fired the team that runs its electric vehicle charging business, raising doubts about the future of one of the largest U.S. charging networks, which other automakers, such as General Motors and Ford, have said they will also use.
In social media posts On Tuesday, several Tesla employees confirmed layoffs, The Information first reported.
Tesla has “completely left our charging organization behind,” said William Navarro Jameson, Tesla's head of strategic charging programs. Written on X.
in Post on LinkedIn“In the middle of the night, I, along with all of my #TeslaGlobal #Charging colleagues, learned that the Tesla Charging organization no longer existed,” wrote Len Chaplin, a senior manager in Tesla's charging division.
The lack of charging infrastructure is one of the main barriers to widespread adoption of electric vehicles, and Tesla's extensive “supercharger” network has long been a major selling point for its vehicles. Until recently, this network could only be used by Tesla vehicles.
Following a call from Tesla CEO Elon Musk, nearly every major U.S. automaker has committed to manufacturing electric vehicles. Compatible with Tesla charging technologynow known as North American Standard Shipping.
In response, major electric vehicle charging providers like Electrify America and EVgo have also announced that they will begin building chargers using NACS cables.
“What this means for the charging network, NACS and all the exciting work we've been doing across the industry, I don't know yet,” Jameson wrote in his post.
Tesla did not respond to CNN's request for comment.
musk He said on X Tuesday The company “still plans to grow the Supercharger network, but at a slower pace for new sites and more emphasis on 100% uptime and expansion of existing sites.”
“Musk is reading the industry about declining demand for electric vehicles globally,” according to Dan Ives, a senior analyst at Wedbush Securities.
“Tesla is going through a demand storm, and unfortunately strategic changes are needed to get the train back on the tracks,” he told CNN, but added: “Removing the entire section is surprising.”
This is a developing story and will be updated.
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