Entire Tesla Supercharger team fired (Update: Elon Musk says supercharger network growth will continue). ** ⚠️ ADMIN WARNING: NO POLITICS **

[Dark-Fx]

Boring Company = drilling useless tunnels under Las Vegas that Teslas can drive through at slow speeds.

Subway tunnels but somehow significantly more useless.

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[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

From MarketWatch this AM.:

Tesla’s head of product launches quits after seven years—and takes a swipe at Elon Musk on his way out the door
Rich Otto says job cuts are hurting morale—and he won’t miss the coffee

By Ciara Linnane

Tesla Inc.'s head of product launches is leaving the company after nearly seven years-and taking a swipe at its leader on the way out the door.

'Great companies are made up of equal parts great people and great products, and the latter are only possible when its people are thriving. The recent layoffs that are rocking the company and its morale have thrown this harmony out of balance and it's hard to see the long game. It was time for a change.'Rich Otto, head of product launches, Tesla Inc.

Otto was referring to the recent announcement from Tesla (TSLA) Chief Executive Elon Musk that he plans to lay off 10% of the company's global workforce as he works to combat a cooling of demand and investor concerns about profits.

In April, the company sent a memo to staff announcing layoffs that was signed by Musk, and mentioned a need to get leaner and cut back on duplicative roles.

"This will enable us to be lean, innovative and hungry for the next growth phase cycle," the note said.

Since then, the company has laid off the department responsible for chargers, as the Associated Press reported. Several leaders of Tesla's Supercharger team posted social-media messages last week saying they were told that the entire group of about 500 had been laid off by Musk, who seemed to confirm the move in a posting Tuesday on X, the social-media site he now owns.

The layoffs come at a time of turmoil for Musk and Tesla, after a disappointing first-quarter delivery report earlier in April.

The electric-vehicle maker delivered 386,783 units in the period, while analysts tracked by FactSet had expected 457,000 deliveries. The performance also marked a steep decline relative to the 423,000 EVs that Tesla delivered in the first quarter of 2023.

The company is dealing with heightened competition, and the EV industry in general must contend with a cooling of demand. Tesla has cut prices at various points in the past year to spur demand, though the move has weighed on the company's margins.

Read: Why is Ford deepening its hybrid push? It comes down to one word.

There was more bad news this week when Reuters reported that U.S. prosecutors are reviewing whether the company committed securities or wire fraud by misleading investors about its self-driving capabilities.

Citing three people familiar with the matter, Reuters said the Justice Department is examining whether Tesla or Musk suggested that the company's Autopilot and Full Self-Driving systems mean cars can drive themselves. The systems assist with steering, braking and lane changes, but are not fully autonomous.

Regulators have already investigated hundreds of crashes-some fatal-involving the Tesla Autopilot system.

For more, read: U.S. prosecutors are examining whether Tesla committed securities or wire fraud in Autopilot probe: Reuters

The stock meanwhile, has been among he S&P 500's worst performers in the year to date, falling 30.4%, while the S&P 500 SPX has gained 9%.

 

[SANZC02]

Headline and subhead below from MarketWatch this AM. Body of article is paywalled, but the headlines speak of what most of us already know:

Tesla’s head of product launches quits after seven years—and takes a swipe at Elon Musk on his way out the door
Rich Otto says job cuts are hurting morale—and he won’t miss the coffee

Barrons is carrying that story as well.

Tesla shipments in China for April were down 18% YoY and looks like layoffs over there are pretty heavy as well.

Tesla certainly is in a challenging spot right now, having low morale will not help, they need motivated employees which is hard to have with blind cuts sucking all the energy out of the work force. Cutting a high performing team on a whim to make a point certainly will make one but not the desired one.

There are some analyst out there saying the recent stock volatility with lower lows and the lower rebound highs are pointing to a likelihood of seeing increased shorts in the stock.

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

Barrons is carrying that story as well.

Tesla shipments in China for April were down 18% YoY and looks like layoffs over there are pretty heavy as well.

Tesla certainly is in a challenging spot right now, having low morale will not help, they need motivated employees which is hard to have with blind cuts sucking all the energy out of the work force. Cutting a high performing team on a whim to make a point certainly will make one but not the desired one.

There are some analyst out there saying the recent stock volatility with lower lows and the lower rebound highs are pointing to a likelihood of seeing increased shorts in the stock.

I came across rest of the article at Morningstar and have added it to my post. The man is spot-on regarding leadership and management. China is way ahead, of rest of the world, on EV adaptation and development. Their industry is state subsidized and owned. The entire strategy is tied to their national security goals (less dependence on oil by the public, more oil for industry and military ambitions). It's become a very tough place for Tesla to compete. Meanwhile, losses elsewhere—weakened consumer borrowing power and steadily increasing competition in other markets, erosion of brand equity because of him—are all adding up. Seems instead of trimming methodically and skillfully with a scalpel, in typical Musk fashion, he went "hardcore" with a rusty chainsaw.

 

[Rivian Head]

Looks like BP wants to acquire much of SC network. Remains to be seen who the highest bidder will be. If you have built the best charging network in the world, then somebody will pay premium $ for it, which will allow Elon to reallocate $$ to higher margin business. It’s a simple business move that makes more sense each day. Charging will likely become commoditized..

 

[ThumprMN]

https://www.benzinga.com/news/24/05...-musk-fired-hundreds-of-employees-responsible

BP Wants To Buy Tesla Supercharging Stations After Elon Musk Fired Hundreds Of Employees Responsible For Charging Network Expansion

• BP is "aggressively looking to acquire real estate" to scale up its charging network following recent layoffs from Tesla.
• BP's strategy involves building high-capacity charging locations that have 12 or more charging stations each, which it calls "Gigahubs."

 

[Rivian Head]

I came across rest of the article at Morningstar and have added it to my post. The man is spot-on regarding leadership and management. China is way ahead, of rest of the world, on EV adaptation and development. Their industry is state subsidized and owned. The entire strategy is tied to their national security goals (less dependence on oil by the public, more oil for industry and military ambitions). It's become a very tough place for Tesla to compete. Meanwhile, losses elsewhere—weakened consumer borrowing power and steadily increasing competition in other markets, erosion of brand equity because of him—are all adding up. Seems instead of trimming methodically and skillfully with a scalpel, in typical Musk fashion, he went "hardcore" with a rusty chainsaw.

thats why Tesla is pivoting to FSD/Robotaxi as EVs become commoditized like TVs and appliances, as price racing to the bottom. That’s why Tesla is offering its FSD to other automakers , and will attempt to creat another revenue stream. Makes sense.

 

[emoore]

Looks like BP wants to acquire much of SC network. Remains to be seen who the highest bidder will be. If you have built the best charging network in the world, then somebody will pay premium $ for it, which will allow Elon to reallocate $$ to higher margin business. It’s a simple business move that makes more sense each day. Charging will likely become commoditized..

Sigh. No.

 

[vandy1981]

Looks like BP wants to acquire much of SC network. Remains to be seen who the highest bidder will be. If you have built the best charging network in the world, then somebody will pay premium $ for it, which will allow Elon to reallocate $$ to higher margin business. It’s a simple business move that makes more sense each day. Charging will likely become commoditized..

The BP Pulse CEO said landowners with canceled Supercharger projects should contact him via linkedin. I don't think you can make the leap that BP wants to buy 100s of existing Supercharger sites from that statement.

 

[Redline]

The BP Pulse CEO said landowners with canceled Supercharger projects should contact him via linkedin. I don't think you can make the leap that BP wants to buy 100s of existing Supercharger sites from that statement.

You can’t speak logically to them.

 

[COdogman]

It is pretty funny to me how quickly the Elon stans have gone from touting the SC network as one of Tesla’s biggest assets, to complimenting Elon on his decision to tear it apart.

Delusion is a hell of a drug…

 

[Redline]

It is pretty funny to me how quickly the Elon stans have gone from touting the SC network as one of Tesla’s biggest assets, to complimenting Elon on his decision to tear it apart.

Delusion is a hell of a drug…

It simply doesn't matter what he does, they will shift to "it's a genius move."

If Musk said we're doubling investment into SCing. They would say how brilliant it was. These people are in a cult.

 

[jplblue]

...complimenting Elon on his decision to tear it apart.

Hold your horses, Elcon changing course again: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...tune-on-tesla-superchargers-after-mass-firing

Elon Musk Changes Tune on Tesla Superchargers After Mass Firing

• CEO says company will spend ‘well over’ $500 million this year

 

[Redline]

Hold your horses, Elcon changing course again: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...tune-on-tesla-superchargers-after-mass-firing

Elon Musk Changes Tune on Tesla Superchargers After Mass Firing

• CEO says company will spend ‘well over’ $500 million this year

Here it comes!


Elmo Cult Bros "BRILLIANT! DID YOU SEE THIS! $500m!"

 

[vandy1981]

BP is "aggressively looking to acquire real estate" to scale up its charging network following recent layoffs from Tesla.

BP Pulse was looking to aggressively expand before Musk's Tesla Temper Tantrum.

Also, I don't know why they need to chase real estate when they have thousands of BP-branded gas stations in the USA . Many of them are corporate owned and would easily accommodate charging stations.

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