Tesla cut two key executives and laid off the 500 staff members who supported the operations of its Supercharger EV charging network, The Information reported on Tuesday, citing CEO Elon Musk’s email to senior managers.
Musk cited falling sales and impatience with the overall progress in headcount reduction as the primary drivers behind the cuts and reportedly suggested that more will follow, warning his executives to take headcount reduction measures seriously.
Rebecca Tinucci, senior director of the electric vehicle maker’s Supercharger business, and Daniel Ho, head of the new vehicles program, are both out. Musk also plans to dismiss everyone working for Tinucci and Ho, including the roughly 500 employees who work in the Supercharger group, the report said. The Supercharger layoffs stand out as particularly surprising, because the Supercharger network is widely regarded as a key advantage for Tesla over its competition — as of January, Tesla had built 6,000 Supercharger stations with nearly 55,000 chargers.
Tesla’s public policy team, which was led by former executive Rohan Patel, will also be dissolved.
Per Musk, Tesla needs to remain “absolutely hard core” about managing headcount and costs and said the cuts should serve as a warning to anybody on staff who isn’t taking the initiatives seriously. Tesla had 140,473 employees globally as of end-2023, Reuters said.
Ho joined Tesla in 2013 and served as program manager on Model S, the 3, and the Y before being put in charge of all new vehicles. Tinucci joined in 2018. Two other leaders — Patel and battery development chief Drew Baglino — announced their departures earlier this month, when Tesla also ordered the layoffs of more than 10% of its workforce.
Includes reporting from Reuters.