Here's the inside story of why Elon Musk fired the entire Tesla Supercharger staff

[usonian]

Posted in GD because it has to do with business decision making more than autos.

https://www.autoblog.com/2024/05/15/heres-the-inside-story-of-why-elon-musk-fired-the-entire-tesla-supercharger-staff/

Employees say it was a snap decision after he got an answer he didn't like.

The day before Elon Musk fired virtually all of Tesla’s electric-vehicle charging division last month, they had high hopes as charging chief Rebecca Tinucci went to meet with Musk about the network’s future, four former charging-network staffers told Reuters.

After Tinucci had cut between 15% and 20% of staffers two weeks earlier, part of much wider layoffs, they believed Musk would affirm plans for a massive charging-network expansion.

The meeting could not have gone worse. Musk, the employees said, was not pleased with Tinucci’s presentation and wanted more layoffs. When she balked, saying deeper cuts would undermine charging-business fundamentals, he responded by firing her and her entire 500-member team.

...

Three of the former employees called the firings a major setback to U.S. charging expansion because of the relationships Tesla employees had built with suppliers and electric utilities. Tesla had grown into one of the larger customers for many major utilities around the country, and many had hired new staff and planned new infrastructure based on Tesla’s charging-network expansion plans, the former employees said.

[Johnny2X2X]

1. He's a crook

So he just cut a huge deal with the other automakers for access to his Super Charger stations. And there was a lot of government money bfor Tesla in the deal to build out these staions further. Him just gutting this department basically means he took the money without honoring his end of the deal. Lawsuits will follow.

He's a legit sociopath.

[LiberalFighter]

16. Yes a sociopath.

I have major thoughts about him.

[SleeplessinSoCal]

2. is he insane or just vindictive?

He's sabotaging his own life's work. His ambitions are gone. Proof that power not only corrupts, but destroys.

[Beausoleil]

7. Is it really his life's work?

Or is it more like when he forced out the two engineers who founded the company and annointed himself the "founder" of Tesla.

The guy is a know-nothing fraud. He a little boy who never grew up with way too much money and power.

Scamming people is his life's work, IMO.

[SleeplessinSoCal]

9. Could be so. but he has amassed so much wealth...

... in the clean energy field. To think that was a stepping stone to world dominance is sort of insane.

[SleeplessinSoCal]

11. Kara Swisher article

My go-to source on Elon's machinations.

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2024/mar/04/musk-needs-to-be-adored-zuckerberg-is-out-of-his-depth-kara-swisher-on-the-toxic-giants-of-big-tech

[erronis]

14. Thanks for that article. Frail humans all.

And power can make them even weaker.

[SleeplessinSoCal]

30. Even Swisher has had her personal info put online.

We need to fix this. It's right up there with all the other fake stuff dumming us down and turning us off or against each other

[Beausoleil]

13. Just posted this from Hysteria Podcast

https://www.democraticunderground.com/132223103

[SleeplessinSoCal]

29. Thanks very much.

I watched most of it. Breathtaking.

I've spent days trying to sort out what is fraudulent in trying to fix an email hack. Then just trying to maneuver through the Medicare HMO system for my hubby's chest xray access. Then my Google map kept talking through a phone call to my doctor. Watched a little Deadline Whitehouse and had to turn it off as I was driving and had a very strange palpitation episode with a brain flush. I don't know what it was. I need to speak to doctor though. The only cure I can envision is unloading the damage done by Musk and the narcissistic malignant phoney who was once elected POTUS.

[Ray Bruns]

10. Yes.

[Katcat]

23. As my mom would have said

The man is flat out bonkers. And a crook to boot.

[Arne]

3. The worms go in, the worms come out

Worms go in and worms come out.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

8. Worms relate to Musk? You're not confusing him with ReffKJr who has the brain worm?

[Hermit-The-Prog]

12. We have a pandemic of wormy brains.

[diva77]

20. That's it, in a nutshell!

[Arne]

18. No not at all.

Elon was very smart and he was very rich.
I have to believe that something happened to his brain,
Worm..

[Hugin]

4. There's never been a better time to invest in...

Hugin's hand-spun EV charging electrons! "They're artisanal!" Get them while they're fresh! Bulk discount! (Franchises available NOW!)

[Baitball Blogger]

5. Petulant prick who just happens to hold the future of the industry in his hands.

[erronis]

15. Probably not. He's being upstaged by many others.

And his products are falling apart.

[Voltaire2]

6. Maybe he should get a brain mri to see if he has a worm?

[2naSalit]

17. This is why...

1) We need to nationalize Xcorp/Starlink and take them away from him for national security purposes.

2) He should be investigated for his foreign dealings while owning elements of our national security and communications networks.

[Arne]

19. Those little starlinks

are everywhere up there.
He has started a hugh mess around our planet.

[2naSalit]

22. Yup...

And it was the -45 admin who let him do it, I think.

While out watching the Aurora with my neighbor the other night we saw some satellites that seemed to have difficulty staying on their courses, several of them. We noticed them individually and started asking each other for confirmation. It suddenly occurred to me that there could come a time, maybe during that solar storm, where all those things could rain from the sky within a brief window of time.

I am of a mind to think that damn near anything is possible anymore.

[Arne]

24. You would think it was science fiction.

But nope, it's real.

[kimbutgar]

21. I was working in my senior move manager job yesterday and this lady has 5 children all very successful

One son works for Tesla and I asked her about layoffs and she said he was in the tech division and his job hadn’t moved to Texas yet. Just before we left she got a call from him saying he was laid off. She said he is a smart guy and won’t have trouble finding another job.

[a kennedy]

25. I thought I read that a lot of the charging stations are being vandalized for the copper

in them……wonder if that little ditty will be fixed. Curious…….

[Rstrstx]

28. A few have, but the bad press is just getting started

Stories about Supercharger stations being down leaving people stranded, increasing customer hesitancy will start showing up at their galleries and affecting sales, Elon will probably have no choice but to reverse course.

Personally I think it is past time the board needs to ask him to step aside, he is a liability for the company right now as they seem to have lost track of their mission. With him gone as head they may be able to lure back some of the talent he foolishly let go of and win back some of the EV’ers who hopped on the Never Elon bandwagon.

Cybertruck was stupid, Robotaxi is stupid, but firing the Supercharging team went way beyond stupid and crossed into complete incompetence. It caused serious damage to brand reputation in a way that even his conspiracy laden right-wing posts could not accomplish.

[DBoon]

26. No private individual should be so wealthy and powerful that they can solely govern critical national infrastructuire

Elon Musk acts like he is an absolute monarch. His wealth gives him the power to be one.

The US was born in a war to rid ourselves of all powerful kings and to establish a representative government with checks and balances.

Note only does Musk decide what our electric vehicle charging network shall be, he has also been creating his own foreign policy, at odds with our elected president.

[Blue Owl]

27. Fuck that asshole