He got cold feet.
Reverse! Reverse!
Tesla CEO Elon Musk seems to be having second thoughts about firing his EV maker’s entire Supercharger team.
Why? Because the company has begun rehiring some of the 500-employee team Musk let go in its entirety last month, Bloomberg reports. For instance, director of charging for North America Max de Zegher, who once reported to former senior director of EV charging Rebecca Tinucci, has reportedly been reinstated.
It’s unclear how many team members have been rehired, and as expected, Tesla and Musk ignored Bloomberg‘s requests for comment.
The news highlights just how much chaos Musk has brought upon the ailing EV maker. Following weeks of layoffs, many have since pointed the finger at Musk, arguing his abrasive commentary and unpredictable leadership are tanking the company’s reputation and throwing its operations into disarray.
In other words, the latest news shouldn’t come as a surprise, especially because it’s far from the first time Musk has backtracked on a controversial and short-sighted decision — in many ways, in fact, it’s become one of his signature moves.
Musked Up
Musk’s unexpected decision to dissolve the Supercharger team came as a shock last month. Many of the company’s most ardent supporters were furious, pointing out that the company’s network of fast chargers was the number one reason they had bought a Tesla in the first place.
The changes became apparent almost immediately, with Tesla pulling out of key leases and ghosting contractors.
Facing immense backlash, Musk quickly and conveniently changed his tune, promising that he would spend “well over” $500 million to expand Tesla’s Supercharger network, but stopping well short of explaining the significance behind that number.
Given his latest decision to rehire De Zegher, Musk has clearly gotten cold feet about cutting off one of the company’s limbs.
“Supercharging is the largest network globally, with the highest capital + operational efficiency, and we will continue to sustain & grow the network,” the official X account of the company’s charging department tweeted. “Thank you to site hosts & suppliers for your patience as we restructure internally!”
“Then why did Elon fire the team that achieved all that?” Electrek editor-in-chief Fred Lambert quickly shot back.
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