Elon Musk, boss of Tesla, said on Friday that the American electric vehicle manufacturer would invest “Much more” of $500 million in 2024 to install new superchargers, a few days after massive layoffs in this sector.
“Just to be clear: Tesla will spend well over $500 million to expand our Supercharger network and create thousands of new chargers this year”, posted the billionaire on X, a social network which also belongs to him. This amount “is only for new sites and expansions, not counting operational costs, which are much higher”said Elon Musk, announcing the creation of a discussion group on “Supercharger Technology” intended in particular to identify areas where to install them.
500 people made redundant
He spoke ten days after the publication by several American media of an internal email indicating that Tesla was going to cut jobs within the unit dedicated to network development. According to these media, some 500 people, or the entire workforce, were made redundant. The billionaire specifies, according to The Information, the immediate departure of Rebecca Tinucci, director of the Supercharger group, which is closed.
This revelation raised questions regarding the development of this network of more than 50,000 fast chargers – the most extensive global network, according to the group -, which make it possible to add up to 320 kilometers of additional autonomy in a quarter of ‘hour. In spring 2023, several competitors – Ford, General Motors, Rivian – entered into partnerships with Tesla so that their vehicles can use its fast charging network in Canada and the United States.
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A few weeks later, seven manufacturers – BMW, General Motors, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Mercedes-Benz, Stellantis – announced the creation of a joint company to install, from the summer of 2024, at least 30,000 fast chargers in North America, accessible to all electric vehicles. Fear that charging infrastructure is insufficient is one of the reasons why sales of electric vehicles are growing more slowly than expected in the United States.
According to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), some 33 million electric vehicles are expected to ply American roads by 2030 and require around 180,000 public fast chargers. It estimates that 26.8 million private chargers (homes and businesses) should also be active.
According to the US Department of Energy website, there are currently nearly 12,000 public fast charging stations in North America, with more than 47,000 charging ports. In total, there are nearly 203,000 public ports in more than 75,000 free access stations.
