Tesla is pulling back from EV charging, and people are freaking out

livemint.com:

Tesla’s move this week to lay off much of the team responsible for creating the largest and most successful electric-vehicle charging network in the U.S. threw the industry into a state of shock and confusion. The layoffs halted construction work at a dozen Supercharger sites in Texas.

In New York, property owners in negotiations with Tesla were told the company was withdrawing from discussions about adding chargers to their sites. The upheaval comes as the EV industry struggles with sluggish sales growth and a bumpy rollout of a national highway-charging network. The Tesla layoffs were sweeping and included employees in the sales force to those overseeing the construction of charging sites, according to people familiar with the decision.

Contractors and executives at other automakers that have partnered with Tesla on charging described widespread confusion over the future of Tesla’s charging business. Some of those laid off woke up Tuesday morning to find themselves locked out of the company computer system and learned about the layoffs in messages to their personal email accounts. “Dear Employee," the message began.

“As you know, we recently announced a significant decision that impacts the entire organization, and you directly." The Information earlier reported that Chief Executive Elon Musk, in an internal email sent late Monday, said he would dismiss everyone in the Supercharger group, and its senior director Rebecca Tinucci was leaving the company. The world’s most-valuable automaker last week said its first-quarter profit plunged to its lowest level since 2021. Tesla plans to slash more than 10% of its global workforce amid broader cooling in consumer demand for electric vehicles.