Tesla conducting more layoffs, including entire Supercharger team
Just after laying off “more than 10%” of its global workforce, Tesla is laying off even more employees – including senior executives and long-time veterans of the company, most notably the entire Supercharging team and the executive responsible for negotiating NACS adoption across the industry.
Tesla started the week before last with news of a huge round of layoffs.
The layoffs were quite broad across the company. Tesla shortened production shifts at Gigafactory Texas and cleared out several teams associated with critical projects there.
One of those heads was Drew Baglino, former VP of Powertrain and Energy Engineering, who had been with the company for 18 years and led the 4680 cell project. While his resignation is being publicly portrayed as voluntary, it is speculated that disappointment with progress on the 4680 project had something to do with it.
Tesla also lost key executive Rohan Patel, its head of policy and business development, during these layoffs.
And as we learned last week, the company also fired its entire new ad team.
But when we originally heard about Tesla’s upcoming layoffs, the rumors we heard suggested that the numbers could involve up to 20% of the company’s workforce. We had seen other signals that layoffs might be coming, but the specific tip came from an anonymous source within Tesla who was correct about the layoff’s timing, though not correct about its scale.
Now, more layoffs have been finalized through an email from CEO Elon Musk to executives, first reported by The Information, stating that 6-year veteran Rebecca Tinucci, Tesla’s Senior Director of EV charging, would be leaving the company on Tuesday, along with nearly all of her 500-person charging team (“a few” employees will be reassigned, according to The Information).
Tinucci was responsible for Tesla’s EV charging business, including Supercharging, which means that the cutting of the Supercharger team may reflect a change in direction for Tesla. Tesla has been very successful at getting manufacturers to adopt its NACS plug – an effort led by Tinucci, which got her onto the TIME 100 Climate list – leading many to suggest that it will be able to run a profitable energy delivery business for a long time to come (here’s her presentation from Investor Day 2023).
The email states that Tesla will continue to build out some new Superchargers, and will finish those under construction. But relieving the team of its duty may signal a reduction in buildout of the system – at a time when, if anything, faster charging station deployment is needed.
Another executive layoff is 10-year veteran Daniel Ho, Director of Vehicle Programs and New Product Initiatives, who was program manager for the Model S, 3 and Y and had previously served 12 years at Ford in product roles.
In recent quarters, Tesla has guided for a “pause” inbetween growth phases, expecting that sales growth would be more modest until the release of next-gen vehicles like the cheaper “Model 2” and robotaxi products. There has been some back–and–forth over what form those products would take – but laying off the head of New Product Initiatives reflects potential problems within that team as well.
Further, most of former executive Rohan Patel’s public policy team will be eliminated – at a time when many public policy challenges around DC charging, home charging, emissions standards, climate change, and political hostility to superior EV technology are still looming.
Musk said, in his typical bluster, that he wants Tesla to be “absolutely hard core” about headcount reduction, saying that executives whose subordinates “don’t obviously pass the excellent, necessary and trustworthy test” would find themselves relieved of duty as well – suggesting that he wants those executives to fire more employees or be fired themselves.
All of this news comes at a critical time for Tesla, following a quarterly earnings miss in which Tesla significantly missed delivery and earnings estimates, and had a rare year-over-year reduction in sales
Tesla’s layoffs come at a time when many other companies in the tech industry are laying off staff, in an apparent game of follow-the-leader while industry profits are still high.
Electrek’s Take
Firstly – it makes absolutely no sense to lay off the Supercharger team. Supercharging is an incredible opportunity for Tesla, especially now that everyone else has adopted NACS.
Tesla has a fairly simple business case from here on out to become the leading “gas station of the future.” With its experience and lead on Superchargers, its more reliable and better-designed stations, and its existing business footprint with so many stations installed around the globe, the company has a natural lead. This business case is even stronger now that the entire industry is behind NACS.
To lay off that whole team just when the company has earned such a big win, when billions in public money is available for buildout (which would not have been available without industry NACS adoption, which was, again, spearheaded by Tinucci’s negotiations), and when there is a lead to be maintained, is absolutely crazy. This move, alone, would erode any confidence I had left in Tesla’s CEO – if I still had any.
On layoffs in general, we noted in our coverage of Tesla’s layoffs that the worst part about situations like this is that they greatly affect morale. We imagine morale can’t be great within Tesla right now after huge layoffs, but there can at least be a sense of relief that they’re over after a large round of layoffs closes.
But if Tesla is still doing layoffs, that sense of relief is gone, and employees will still be wondering whether they might show up to work without a job, as we heard happened to many employees on the first day of layoffs.
And while the last layoffs were distasteful enough, continued layoffs have even worse optics, given Tesla’s move to ask shareholders for a $55 billion payout for its CEO just days after firing 14,000 people. That $55 billion could pay for 40 years worth of six-figure salaries for those employees. Quite a large payday for a part-time CEO, made worse by the potential loss of livelihood for more employees who might still be on the chopping block.
Speculatively, there may even be more layoffs coming. A source who was correct about coming layoffs but not exactly correct about their scale or timing told us that potentially another 5% of staff could be laid off, including executives and long-time employees dating back to the Roadster days. These layoffs seem close to that rumor (though, again, on a smaller scale), but it’s possible that there may be more coming. Watch this space for news.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
Environment
Uber launches true driverless robotaxi operations in the Middle East with WeRide [Video]
![Uber launches true driverless robotaxi operations in the Middle East with WeRide [Video]](https://i0.wp.com/electrek.co/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/11/Uber-Middle-East-WeRide.jpg?resize=1200,628&quality=82&strip=all&ssl=1)
Just over a year after Uber announced a strategic partnership in the Middle East with autonomous vehicle specialist WeRide, the companies have officially begun offering the public robotaxi rides without a driver or safety operator present on board.
Today’s latest milestone involving robotaxi operations in the Middle East dates back to September 2024, when Uber and WeRide initially announced a strategic partnership to bring autonomous rides to the UAE.
Three months later, the partner officially launched autonomous rides in Abu Dhabi, but with a safety operator present in the vehicle. At the time, Uber and WeRide said the supervised rides were “laying the groundwork” for a true driverless commercial operations planned for 2025.
That day has come.
WeRide and Uber have confirmed that commercial robotaxi operations are officially underway in Abu Dhabi without any safety operators on board – a first for the Middle East.
Uber rolls out Middle East robotaxi operations in Abu Dhabi
Uber shared details of its latest milestone late this evening or in the afternoon in the Middle East, depending on where you are.
Beginning today (Wednesday) customers in Abu Dhabi can select an UberX or Uber Comfort ride that enables them to be matched with a fully autonomous WeRide robotaxi without a driver inside. Riders in the Middle East can also increase their chances of hailing one of these driverless rides by select the “Autonomous” option in the Uber app.
In order to qualify, the prosepctive rider’s route must be part of WeRide’s operating territory in Abu Dhabi and a dedicated WeRide GXR Robotaxi vehicle (seen in the featured image above) must be available.
Similar to Uber’s partnership with Waymo in Austin and Atlanta, the global rideshare network will oversee fleet operations for WeRide vehicles, handling end-to end rider support. It has tapped Tawasul Transport to facilitate vehicle cleaning, maintenance, inspections, charging, and depot management. WeRide will remain responsible for vehicle testing.
As you may recall last spring, Uber and WeRide announced an expansion to their strategic partnership beyond the Middle East (although Dubai will be the city for its next robotaxi rollout). Over the next five years, Uber and WeRide intend to deploy true driverless public rides in 15 additional cities, some of which will be in Europe.
As promised, here’s some b-roll footage from Uber showing how riders in Abu Dhabi can order a WeRide robotaxi:
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
Metro Detroit is about to get a big boost of fast EV chargers, with more than 40 new ChargePoint ports set to come online across multiple sites owned by the Dabaja Brothers Development Group.
The first ultra-fast charging site just opened in Canton, Michigan. It’s owned and operated by Dabaja Brothers, who plan to follow it with additional ChargePoint-equipped locations in Dearborn and Livonia.
“We started this project because we saw a gap in our community – there was almost nowhere to charge an EV in Canton, and a similar lack of charging across metro Detroit,” said Yousef Dabaja, owner/operator at Dabaja Brothers.
Each metro Detroit site will feature ChargePoint Express Plus fast charging stations, which can deliver up to 500 kW to a single port, can fast-charge two vehicles at the same time, and are compatible with all EVs. The stations feature a proprietary cooling system to deliver peak charging speeds for sustained periods, ensuring that charging speed remains consistent.
The stations operate on the new ChargePoint Platform, which enables operators to monitor performance, adjust pricing, troubleshoot issues, and gain real-time insights to keep chargers running smoothly.
Rick Wilmer, CEO at ChargePoint, said, “This initiative will rapidly infill the ‘fast charging deserts’ across the Detroit area, allowing drivers to quickly recharge their vehicles when and where they need to.”
Read more: ChargePoint just gave its EV charging software a major AI upgrade
If you’re looking to replace your old HVAC equipment, it’s always a good idea to get quotes from a few installers. To make sure you’re finding a trusted, reliable HVAC installer near you that offers competitive pricing on heat pumps, check out EnergySage. EnergySage is a free service that makes it easy for you to get a heat pump. They have pre-vetted heat pump installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high quality solutions. Plus, it’s free to use!
Your personalized heat pump quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisors to help you every step of the way. Get started here. – *ad
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
Mercedes-Benz High-Power Charging and Starbucks have officially opened their first DC fast charging hub together, off the I-5 in Red Bluff, California.
The 400 kW Mercedes-Benz chargers are capable of adding up to 300 miles in 10 minutes, depending on the EV, and every stall has both NACS and CCS cables – they’re fully open DC fast chargers.
Mercedes-Benz HPC North America, a joint venture between subsidiaries of Mercedes-Benz Group and renewable energy producer MN8 Energy, first announced in July 2024 that it would install DC fast chargers at Starbucks stores along Interstate 5, the main 1,400-mile north-south interstate highway on the US West Coast from Canada to Mexico. Ultimately, Mercedes plans to install fast chargers at 100 Starbucks stores across the US.
Mercedes-Benz HPC opened its first North American charging site at Mercedes-Benz USA’s headquarters in Sandy Springs, Georgia, in November 2023 as part of an initial $1 billion charging network investment. As of the end of 2024, Mercedes had deployed over 150 operational fast chargers in the US, but it hasn’t disclosed an official number of how many chargers are currently online.
Andrew Cornelia, CEO of Mercedes-Benz HPC North America, is leaving the company at the end of the month to become global head of electrification & sustainability at Uber.
Read more: Mercedes-Benz is deploying 400 kW US-made EV fast chargers with CCS and NACS cables
If you’re looking to replace your old HVAC equipment, it’s always a good idea to get quotes from a few installers. To make sure you’re finding a trusted, reliable HVAC installer near you that offers competitive pricing on heat pumps, check out EnergySage. EnergySage is a free service that makes it easy for you to get a heat pump. They have pre-vetted heat pump installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high quality solutions. Plus, it’s free to use!
Your personalized heat pump quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisors to help you every step of the way. Get started here. – *ad
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
-
Sports2 years agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports3 years agoButton battles heat exhaustion in NASCAR debut
-
Sports3 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment3 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment1 year agoHere are the best electric bikes you can buy at every price level in October 2024