In a dramatic turn of events, Tesla CEO Elon Musk decided to fire the entire Supercharger team after its division chief, Rebecca Tinucci, refused to conduct further layoffs. According to Reuters, Musk initially dissolved the team in an email sent to staff on April 29 but has since walked back this decision and rehired some of the workers.

The move followed a one-on-one meeting between Musk and Tinucci the day before the email was sent, where she resisted laying off more employees after already reducing her team by 15% to 20%. The decision to axe the entire team reportedly came after Tinucci's refusal to comply with further cuts.

This drastic action comes in the wake of Tesla's first mass layoff announcement of the year, with Musk indicating that over 10% of the company's more than 140,000 employees would be let go. The layoffs are a response to declining sales and rising competition from Chinese automakers like BYD. Musk had even considered a 20% workforce reduction to align with a recent decline in vehicle deliveries, according to Bloomberg.

When announcing the dissolution of the Supercharger team, Musk emphasized the need for rigorous headcount and cost reduction, stating he would require Tesla executives to resign if they retained employees who did not meet the criteria of being excellent, necessary, and trustworthy.

However, the immediate impact of disbanding the Supercharger team was significant. Major automakers such as General Motors, Ford, and Mercedes-Benz, who had adopted Tesla's charging technology, were left without communication from the Supercharger division. This led to criticism from investors and partners, who were also left in the dark about the company's plans.

The backlash prompted Musk to reconsider his decision. He reassured investors and partners that the Supercharger network would continue to grow, albeit at a slower pace, with a focus on maintaining 100% uptime and expanding existing locations. This reversal was partly influenced by Tesla’s commitments to the U.S. government under President Joe Biden’s bipartisan infrastructure law, which awarded Tesla nearly 13% of all electric-vehicle-charging grants.

In an X post on April 30, Musk clarified, "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." He reiterated Tesla's commitment by stating, "Tesla will spend well over $500M expanding our Supercharger network to create thousands of NEW chargers this year."

Despite the turmoil, Tesla’s representatives and Musk have not provided further comments on the situation.