Source: Wall Street News
Some analysts pointed out that Tesla's decision to slow the expansion of the charging network may hinder the US plans to build a nationwide electric vehicle charging network and affect the profit prospects of Tesla's charging business in the US.
On May 1, according to media reports, Musk recently rescinded a previous agreement with the White House. This agreement is to let$Tesla (TSLA.US)$Electric vehicle charging stations are open to other car manufacturers, which means other brands of electric vehicles can also use Tesla's charging stations.
Furthermore, Musk decided last week to fire the team responsible for Tesla's charging stations. Although he hasn't made a public statement, he has said the company will slow down the expansion of its charging network.
Some media pointed out that this decision may affect Tesla's cooperation with other automakers and may weaken President Biden's efforts to promote electric vehicles in his re-election campaign.
Meanwhile, the Republican Party estimates that candidate Trump criticized electric cars several times during the election campaign and claimed that if he was not elected, the US auto industry would face a serious crisis.
The Biden administration's “500,000 recharges” plan may be affected
Electric vehicle charging stations are very important to the popularity of electric vehicles because they allow electric vehicles to be easily charged while driving on the road.
US President Joe Biden wants to help the development of America's electric vehicle and battery manufacturing industry, so he passed some laws and policies. For example, he introduced a climate bill called the Inflation Reduction Act, which provides tax incentives to encourage companies to make electric cars and batteries in the US. Additionally, Biden has signed a bill called the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act and plans to invest $7.5 billion to build these charging stations.
In February 2023, President Biden tweeted: “In the process of building an electric vehicle charging network, we must ensure as many chargers as possible, so that no matter what brand of electric vehicle, drivers can find charging stations to charge their vehicles. To this end, Musk agreed to open up most of Tesla's charging station network. It's a big deal, and it's going to have a huge impact.”
However, Tesla recently laid off about 500 supercharging team employees, a move that raises questions about whether the Biden administration can achieve the goal of establishing a nationwide network of 500,000 electric vehicle charging stations.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre declined to comment on Tesla's specific decisions, but she said that although Tesla is an important company, the US government does not fully rely on Tesla when promoting electric vehicles. There are many companies contributing to the electric vehicle market in the US, not just one company; it is a growing and competitive market.
Will slowing the construction of charging stations hinder the profit prospects of Tesla's charging business?
Among the layoffs, those fired include Rebecca Tinucci, senior director of Tesla's electric vehicle charging business. She is one of the company's highest-ranking female executives and was a key person responsible for establishing relationships with external partners.
Tinucci mentioned in March last year that Tesla has an advantage in deployment costs. Because Tesla's supercharging hardware and other product lines are very inexpensive, usually 20% to 70% cheaper than other companies. She also revealed to investors that the company's cost per kilowatt-hour has been reduced by 40% over the past few years.
Before Musk made this sudden decision, the research agency predicted that by 2030, Tesla's charging business could reach an annual profit of about 740 million US dollars. But now, some analysts point out that since Musk has slowed down the installation of charging stations, this level of profit seems difficult to achieve.
According to reports, this layoff has had an impact on other automakers, including GM, Ford, and Rivian, as customers of these companies are just beginning to be able to use Tesla's charging sockets. Tesla has been growing its charging business for over a decade. According to the data, last year, 8% of global public charging demand was provided by Tesla.
Despite Tesla's large-scale cuts to its supercharging team, Musk promised to continue expanding and improving its supercharging station network. Musk said on X on Tuesday that the company will “focus on ensuring 100% of the network's uptime and expanding existing locations.”
Faced with questions from users on the X platform about whether Tesla will continue with its charging network plans, Musk wrote that they will complete the charging stations currently under construction and add new supercharging stations where there are gaps in the network.
editor/tolk