Interface News Intern Journalist | Tian Heqi
Layoffs and bankruptcies seem to be causing difficulties for the US new energy vehicle industry.
According to an email reported by The Information and Electrek, on April 29th local time, Musk had fired Tesla's senior director of charging infrastructure, Rebecca Tinucci, and up to 500 employees in her team. In addition, Musk also fired Daniel Ho, the automotive project manager.
Subsequently, William Jameson, the head of Tesla's strategic charging program, posted on social media, stating, "Confirmed - @ Tesla @ Elon Musk has dissolved our entire supercharging organization."
When answering questions from social media users about the number of personnel involved in this layoff, William said: a few hundred people worldwide. William also stated that the entire team is not clear about the reason for being laid off.
Two weeks ago, Musk announced in an email to employees that Tesla would lay off over 10% of its global workforce. According to Tesla's filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), as of the end of 2023, the company had over 140000 employees worldwide, with layoffs involving more than 14000 employees. Musk stated that this move is aimed at reducing costs and improving productivity.
In addition to Tesla, several companies related to the new energy vehicle industry in the United States have experienced turbulence.
According to sources cited by Business Insider, American electric vehicle manufacturer Fisker has begun closing its Manhattan Beach headquarters. Last month, the electric vehicle manufacturer told workers at the Manhattan Beach office in California that they would move to the company's office in La Palma, California before May 1st.
According to The Information, on May 6th local time, American lithium battery manufacturer Enoix laid off about 170 employees, about one-third of the total workforce, at its factory in Fremont, California. This layoff may be part of the company's plan announced last week to reduce annual operating costs by $35 million by the end of the year. Enoix experienced a significant decline at the end of the day, with a closing decline of 3%.
Why have there been multiple layoffs in the US new energy vehicle industry recently?
Mako, founder and president of True Lithium Research, told Interface News that the United States is committed to developing its own new energy vehicle and power battery industry chain. "In this process, there will definitely be some companies that cannot survive, and some new companies will emerge. Tesla's various departments are actually like start-up companies, and if they cannot support themselves, they will have to be laid off or laid off."
He stated that Tesla has not only laid off its overcharge team, but the battery department is also undergoing major layoffs, mainly due to less than expected technological progress and limited value. Fisker and Enoix, on the other hand, may have high costs that cannot be reduced, affecting revenue and forcing them to shrink.
"The US government is now aware of the difficulties in progress and is consciously slowing down the pace of development in its new energy vehicle market to give local businesses more time," Merco said.
The current fierce competition in the charging pile market in Europe and America, which is difficult to make a profit, may be one of the main factors for Tesla to lay off its overcharging team.
Last month, Tritium (DCFC. US), the founder of the 23 year old American charging station, announced bankruptcy. Tritium has disclosed a bankruptcy plan to the US Securities and Exchange Commission, which shows that the company and its three Australian subsidiaries, Tritium Pty Ltd, Tritium Holdings Pty Ltd, and Tritium Nominee Pty Ltd, are insolvent.
From 2020 to 2023, Tritium suffered losses of $34.44 million, $63.09 million, $129 million, and $121 million respectively, with a cumulative loss of approximately $350 million.
According to foreign media on April 16th, sources from BP stated that due to the unrewarded bet on the rapid growth of the commercial electric vehicle fleet, the company has reduced more than one tenth of its employees in the electric vehicle charging business and withdrawn it from multiple markets.
At present, the penetration rate of new energy vehicles in the United States is still not high. Many American car buyers believe that the price of electric vehicles is relatively high and the charging facilities are not perfect, so they are not willing to give up on gasoline powered cars, which in turn suppresses the expansion of the charging station market.
According to research data from Guotai Junan Securities, the sales of new energy passenger vehicles in the United States reached 368000 units from January to March this year, a year-on-year increase of 16.5%, with a penetration rate of only 9.4%. In contrast, during the same period, the sales of new energy vehicles in China reached 2.09 million units, a year-on-year increase of 31.8%, and the penetration rate has reached 31.1%.
Since 2023, the electrification process in Europe and America has slowed down. The Biden administration plans to relax exhaust emission restrictions proposed by the US Environmental Protection Agency in February 2023; In March of the same year, the European Union announced that new fuel vehicles using synthetic fuels could continue to be sold after 2035; In September, British Prime Minister Sunak announced the postponement of the ban on gasoline vehicles from 2030 to 2035.
In addition, Tesla's layoff this time may also be related to the limited application scenarios of overcharged piles.
According to Interface News, overcharging stations are generally used for long-distance travel and emergency charging, which can help car owners quickly restore their battery life and reduce waiting time for charging during the journey. Although Tesla has begun to open its supercharging stations to non Tesla branded electric vehicles in some regions, home charging remains the preferred choice for daily electric vehicle charging.
After announcing the aforementioned layoffs, Musk stated on social media platforms on May 1st, "Tesla still plans to expand its supercharging network, but the expansion speed of new locations will slow down and focus more on 100% normal operating time and expansion of existing locations."
Tesla's supercharging network has covered multiple countries and regions around the world. On January 5th this year, Tesla announced that the global number of overcharged piles reached 55000.
As a leader in the new energy industry, Tesla has maintained a strong momentum in the construction of electric vehicle charging networks in the United States for many years. Musk also hinted at the FT Future Automotive Conference in May 2022 that Tesla will add CCS connectors in North America to open its supercharging network to other new energy vehicle owners. According to J D. According to consumer surveys conducted by agencies such as Power, Tesla's supercharging network is not only the largest but also the most reliable in the United States.
Tesla is also actively expanding into the European and Chinese markets. In Europe, its super filled piles are mainly distributed in countries such as Germany, France, Norway, and the United Kingdom, with a total quantity exceeding 10000. In November 2021, Musk announced on social media that it had begun piloting the opening of Tesla supercharging stations to other brands of electric vehicles in the Netherlands.
As of November 1, 2023, Tesla Supercharging Station has achieved 100% coverage of provincial capitals and municipalities directly under the Central Government in Chinese Mainland. Among them, over 1800 super charging stations and over 11000 super charging stations have been completed.
Will Tesla's layoff of its supercharging team involve the Chinese business team? Interface News has contacted Tesla China regarding the matter, but as of publication, no response has been received.
Tesla's super charging station network also involves countries such as Australia. According to the report on public fast charging stations for electric vehicles in Australia released by Next System, Tesla's V3 network of supercharging stations will contribute 60% of all new charging capacity in the country in the fourth quarter of 2023.
Musk has always been proud of Tesla's super charging network. In an on-site interview at the New York Times DealBook forum at the end of November last year, Musk once said, "You can also think of Tesla as a company that integrates multiple companies. Just like our supercharging network, if Tesla's supercharging network were an independent company, it would already be among the Fortune 500, relying solely on its supercharging system."
The termination of Tesla's overcharging team this time will cause disruptions to the supply chain and a series of construction plans, which some industry observers and participants are concerned about.
Due to Tesla's failure to issue a warning to investors in advance regarding the withdrawal of its charging infrastructure construction plan, some Tesla charging station partners were shocked, including small and medium-sized enterprises that install and maintain electric vehicle charging equipment for Tesla in key locations across the United States.
Tesla's move has increased the trust crisis among partner companies and may affect the investment decisions of other companies in this field.
In addition, Tesla's aforementioned decision may also weaken the US government's efforts to promote electric vehicles.
In November 2021, US President Biden signed a $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill, requiring a significant increase in investment in US infrastructure construction, with $7.5 billion specifically allocated to charging stations; In September 2022, the US government passed the Inflation Reduction Act, aiming to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and promote the development of the new energy industry. This layoff may have a negative impact on the US electric vehicle market.
On the other hand, the competitive landscape of the industry may change. Some companies engaged in charging infrastructure construction believe that Tesla's layoffs this time may create opportunities for other companies to enter the charging infrastructure field, which is beneficial for enhancing the competitiveness of the industry.
From the perspective of regional distribution, the global charging pile market is dominated by Chinese Mainland, Europe and the United States. Among them, China, as the world's largest new energy vehicle market, is in a leading position in the construction of charging piles. According to data from the China Charging Alliance, as of the end of 2023, the number of charging stations in China was 8.596 million. In terms of market share of public fast charging and slow charging, Europe is less than half of China's.
Tesla's termination of its supercharging team may also provide an opportunity for local charging service providers and other new energy vehicle brands to expand their market share.