Elon Musk has apparently reversed his previous decision to disband Tesla's Supercharger team. Initially, the Tesla CEO had eliminated the entire charging-infrastructure team two weeks ago, but according to Bloomberg, he is now rehiring some key members, including the North American charging director.
Musk had announced via email last month that the team responsible for Tesla's Supercharger network was being dissolved, as reported by The Information. However, sources cited by Bloomberg indicate that Musk has reconsidered and brought back several team members, including Max de Zegher, the charging director for North America. De Zegher, a veteran employee who joined Tesla in 2013, has extensive experience in sales and charging infrastructure across the UK, Europe, and North America.
Neither Musk nor de Zegher responded to Bloomberg's requests for comments. The number of Supercharger workers rehired remains unclear. Musk's initial decision to dissolve the Supercharger team shocked investors, partners, and customers, particularly major automakers like General Motors, Ford, and Mercedes-Benz, which rely on Tesla's charging technology.
Aaron Luque, CEO of EnviroSpark, a company that installs Tesla chargers, expressed his concerns to Business Insider, stating, "There's no one remaining from the team that we worked with. In terms of formal communication from Tesla, we haven't received anything."
A delay in expanding Tesla's charging infrastructure could also hinder President Joe Biden's clean-energy initiatives. In February 2022, the Biden administration announced $5 billion in funding to build 500,000 EV chargers across the US. According to Politico, Tesla was a significant beneficiary of this funding, securing nearly 13% of the EV charging awards from Biden's bipartisan infrastructure law.
The backlash over the dissolution of the Supercharger team likely prompted Musk to change his mind. Over the past two weeks, he has been assuring stakeholders that Tesla's Supercharger network will continue to grow.
"Tesla still plans to grow the Supercharger network, just at a slower pace for new locations and more focus on 100% uptime and expansion of existing locations," Musk tweeted on April 30.
On Friday, Musk reiterated Tesla's commitment to expanding its Supercharger network on social media. "Just to reiterate: Tesla will spend well over $500M expanding our Supercharger network to create thousands of NEW chargers this year," he wrote. "That's just on new sites and expansions, not counting operations costs, which are much higher."
Musk's reversal on the Supercharger business underscores the complexities of repositioning Tesla as a leader in software and AI. On April 5, he announced that Tesla would launch its long-awaited robotaxi on August 8. Additionally, Musk told investors that the company's Optimus robots could become Tesla's most valuable asset.
"We should be thought of as an AI or robotics company. If you value Tesla as just an auto company, fundamentally, it's just the wrong framework," Musk said during an earnings call on April 23.
Tesla representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider sent outside regular business hours.