Photo: BP Pulse
Tesla shocked the world when it laid off the entire Supercharger team after its chief, Rebecca Tinucci, refused to lay off 14% of its employees. However, one man's trash is another man's treasure, so the move prompted energy companies to battle for the Supercharger sites and former employees.
One week after Tesla's first-quarter earnings call, Elon Musk put a massive layoff plan into motion, with between 10% and 20% (according to sources) of employees put on notice. The layoffs were triggered by poor financials and a strategic shift toward autonomous driving and spared none of Tesla's divisions. Unfortunately, it wasn't a well-thought-out move but a chaotic one with no regard for people's role in the company. In a very short time, Tesla lost not only a huge part of its talented workforce but also many of its most seasoned leaders.
Elon Musk made firing people a mission with no master plan, and when some team leaders resisted the idea, he fired them along with their entire team. This was the case with Rebecca Tinucci, the head of Tesla's charging infrastructure, or Tesla Supercharger network, as it is known to people outside the company. The entire Supercharger team of about 500 employees lost their jobs on April 29.
The move shocked the industry and upended the Supercharger workflow, with no one supervising the day-to-day operations or continuing expansion plans. Reports indicated that Tesla had started backing out of leases for new Supercharger sites, and Musk admitted that Supercharger expansion would slow down. The Supercharger team wipeout was all the more surprising, considering it was one of the most successful divisions inside Tesla and an important profit center.
Tesla may have started the EV revolution on its own but is now competing at all levels against powerful players. The Supercharger network is no exception, especially after energy giants entered the market. Last week, we learned several third-party charging networks were interested in hiring former Tesla Supercharger employees. According to a Bloomberg report, the energy giant BP is also interested in expanding its charging network at Tesla's expense.
BP wants not only Tesla's talent, but also Supercharger locations across the US and has pledged $1 billion by 2030 to expand its network. The company admitted it is "aggressively looking to acquire real estate," and Tesla stepping down its plans was an unexpected boon. BP wants to install 3,000 charging points across the US in the next two to three years and plans to build large-scale stations with 12 or more chargers called Gigahubs.
"If there are stranded real estate partners who are looking for someone to call, they should feel free to pick up the phone and call me or look me up on LinkedIn," Sujay Sharma, chief executive officer of BP Pulse Americas, said in an interview with Bloomberg. "We are actively seeking good talent and real estate opportunities that allow us to grow, despite whatever else is going on around us."
BP was already buying Tesla Supercharger hardware following a $100 million deal signed in 2023. At the time, BP was the first third-party charging network to install Tesla's V4 Superchargers under its brand. The deployment is expected to start later this year unless there's no one left at Tesla to sell and service the chargers.
Although Elon Musk pledged to continue Supercharger expansion by investing half a billion dollars in new charging sites, there are already speculations that Tesla might spin off its Supercharger division. However, if Tesla had planned this, the Supercharger division would have had a lot more value with its team intact.
Elon Musk made firing people a mission with no master plan, and when some team leaders resisted the idea, he fired them along with their entire team. This was the case with Rebecca Tinucci, the head of Tesla's charging infrastructure, or Tesla Supercharger network, as it is known to people outside the company. The entire Supercharger team of about 500 employees lost their jobs on April 29.
The move shocked the industry and upended the Supercharger workflow, with no one supervising the day-to-day operations or continuing expansion plans. Reports indicated that Tesla had started backing out of leases for new Supercharger sites, and Musk admitted that Supercharger expansion would slow down. The Supercharger team wipeout was all the more surprising, considering it was one of the most successful divisions inside Tesla and an important profit center.
Tesla may have started the EV revolution on its own but is now competing at all levels against powerful players. The Supercharger network is no exception, especially after energy giants entered the market. Last week, we learned several third-party charging networks were interested in hiring former Tesla Supercharger employees. According to a Bloomberg report, the energy giant BP is also interested in expanding its charging network at Tesla's expense.
BP wants not only Tesla's talent, but also Supercharger locations across the US and has pledged $1 billion by 2030 to expand its network. The company admitted it is "aggressively looking to acquire real estate," and Tesla stepping down its plans was an unexpected boon. BP wants to install 3,000 charging points across the US in the next two to three years and plans to build large-scale stations with 12 or more chargers called Gigahubs.
"If there are stranded real estate partners who are looking for someone to call, they should feel free to pick up the phone and call me or look me up on LinkedIn," Sujay Sharma, chief executive officer of BP Pulse Americas, said in an interview with Bloomberg. "We are actively seeking good talent and real estate opportunities that allow us to grow, despite whatever else is going on around us."
BP was already buying Tesla Supercharger hardware following a $100 million deal signed in 2023. At the time, BP was the first third-party charging network to install Tesla's V4 Superchargers under its brand. The deployment is expected to start later this year unless there's no one left at Tesla to sell and service the chargers.
Although Elon Musk pledged to continue Supercharger expansion by investing half a billion dollars in new charging sites, there are already speculations that Tesla might spin off its Supercharger division. However, if Tesla had planned this, the Supercharger division would have had a lot more value with its team intact.
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