By Becky Peterson
Tesla's expansion of its Supercharger network has slowed in recent months, after widespread layoffs in April gutted the team responsible for installing new electric-car chargers and stations.
While Tesla has been trying to rebuild the group, including rehiring some employees previously let go, the number of new Supercharger ports opened in May through August fell 28% over the same period a year earlier, according to EV analytics firm EVAdoption.
For the first eight months of this year, that number was down 11% over 2023, the firm's data show. The decline comes as the electric-car maker has received millions of dollars in government funding this summer to install new chargers in states, including Maryland and Arizona.
Tesla is under pressure to expand its network of fast chargers and open it to a wider array of drivers, including those with non-Tesla vehicles.
Ford Motor and Rivian Automotive already have access to Tesla's plug-in technology and several other car companies have forged agreements to use the chargers for their own customers, a shift that could help broaden the once-exclusive service.
The rollout to other automakers has hit some obstacles this year, owing in part to software challenges and holdups distributing the plug-in adapters needed by non-Tesla customers.
"Tesla actually has one of its biggest challenges in front of it since the Supercharger was first released," said Nick Nigro, founder of the research and consulting group Atlas Public Policy.
"What's important for them, in planning around where to allocate resources, is what's coming in the next 12 to 24 months -- that is millions of drivers," Nigro said.
Tesla didn't return requests for comment. Last week, Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk posted on X that Tesla is "opening a lot more Superchargers."
Getting back on track
With 6,500 charging locations globally, Tesla's Supercharger network is widely regarded as one of the industry's most robust and reliable services, and it has become a major selling point for buyers considering the electric-car brand.
The service's growth was disrupted this spring when Tesla abruptly let go of the entire Supercharger team and its head, Rebecca Tinucci, amid companywide layoffs, according to people familiar with the events.
The move threw the industry into chaos, pausing construction on some Supercharger sites that were under development and causing confusion among property owners who were in the middle of negotiations at the time of the job cuts.
Months later, Tesla is trying to get back on track with a smaller team and new leadership of the group. Their task is the same as before -- to expand Tesla's network. Only now, they need to do it with fewer employees, the people said.
Musk has tried to reassure customers that Tesla would continue to build out the service, just at a slower pace for new locations. In May, he said the company plans to spend well over $500 million to improve the network with thousands of new chargers this year.
"That's just on new sites and expansions, not counting operations costs, which are much higher," Musk said.
The reality has been more complicated. For the first few weeks after the layoffs, Tesla's partners and contractors struggled to reach their contacts at Tesla, most of whom no longer worked at the company or had access to email.
By the end of May, Tesla brought back several senior members of the Supercharger team, including Max de Zegher, who leads the program, and a handful of managers who run it in North America.
Mike Snyder, a longtime executive at Tesla who had previously run its industrial-battery program, has since assumed oversight of the charging group, according to an organizational chart viewed by The Wall Street Journal. He now oversees several programs once under Drew Baglino, Tesla's former senior vice president of energy, who left in April.
Construction on Supercharger stations remains active across the country, and in recent weeks, the team has continued rehiring some former workers, people involved in those conversations say.
Network build-out
A continued slowdown could have an impact on the charging experience for electric-vehicle customers across the industry.
Tesla, in late 2023, agreed to make its charging service available to other automakers for the first time. The move also allowed Tesla to qualify for a share of the billions in federal dollars available for enlarging the country's EV charging infrastructure.
So far, the company has secured about $37 million in public funding to build 88 Supercharger stations in the U.S., making it one of the top recipients in a federal program to expand EV charging access, according to EVAdoption, which tracks the awards.
Some of that money was doled out via state programs after the layoffs. In August, Tesla received $2.9 million to install six charging sites in Arizona. A month earlier, it got $1.8 million from Maryland to install its fast chargers, which can allow EVs to repower in about 30 minutes.
Tesla's need for expansion is coming into sharper focus with more automakers poised to join the network. Already, Tesla drivers are worried about congestion at existing stations and the potential for longer wait times.
Earlier this year, the company opened its charger network to Ford and Rivian drivers. It also had plans to expand access to General Motors, Volvo Cars and Polestar by the spring of 2024, but its website now says those additions are coming soon.
"That was one downside that came as a result of opening up that network to the non-Tesla owners," said Brent Gruber, executive director of the EV practice at J.D. Power, which studies charging satisfaction. "They no longer had access to that exclusive club. Now they're sharing it with other owners."
Write to Becky Peterson at becky.peterson@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
September 16, 2024 05:30 ET (09:30 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2024 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
