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Tesla (TSLA) CEO Elon Musk said the company plans to spend more than $500 million to expand its charging network, just days after massive layoffs hit the EV maker’s Supercharger unit.
In a tweet on X early Friday morningMusk said: “To reiterate, Tesla will spend over $500 million this year expanding our Supercharger network to create thousands of NEW chargers. This only applies to new locations and expansions, not to mention the operational costs, which are much higher.”
The news comes after Musk and Tesla fired almost the entire Supercharger organization including its director last week say on X that the network for new locations will grow “at a slower pace.”
Pras Subramanian, Yahoo Finance’s senior auto reporter, reports:
Automakers like GM, Ford, Kia, Polestar, Stellantis, Honda and others had signed up to access the Supercharger network and integrate Tesla’s NACS plug into their future vehicles, under the promise that the Supercharger network would remain steady to grow. pace.
Tesla likely got an earful from its NACS partners, wondering what exactly they were getting after signing deals for access to the Supercharger network.
In addition, there were contractors and others who worked with Tesla on existing Supercharger projects get their emails bounced back without feedback on what to do next. Tesla has also apparently withdrawn from the leases for four upcoming Supercharger locations in New York, per EV blog Electrek.
Charging network provider EVgo told Yahoo Finance that it was “actively involved” in developing the NACS network and adding more locations to take advantage of Tesla’s move to scale back its expansion.
EVgo competitor Blink Charging is also ready to take the opportunity and claim potential Supercharger customers contacted Blink about future orders in the wake of Tesla’s move.
Even oil and gas companies like BP are getting into Tesla. With its BP Pulse charging network, the company said it is “aggressively looking for real estate to scale our network, which is an increased focus following Tesla’s recent announcement.”
The company’s CEO even tells Tesla’s rejected partners to call him.
“If there are any stranded real estate partners looking for someone to call, they should feel free to pick up the phone and call me or look me up on LinkedIn,” said Sujay Sharma, CEO of BP Pulse Americas. told Bloomberg.
