New charging pile drama reduces by 28%! Tesla's large-scale layoffs affect the Supercharger network

Institutional data shows that Tesla's large-scale layoffs in April have sharply slowed down the expansion of its Supercharger network. According to the electric vehicle analysis company EVAdoption, the number of new Tesla Supercharger stations in the United States from May to August this year decreased by about 28% compared to the same period last year. In the first 8 months of this year, the increase in charging stations decreased by 11% year-on-year. Meanwhile, Tesla has also received a large amount of funding from the U.S. government to encourage the construction of infrastructure for new energy vehicles. So far, it has received approximately $37 million in public funds to build 88 Supercharger stations in the United States. Among the companies receiving the most funding from the U.S. federal government for expanding the electric vehicle charging network and promoting electric vehicles, Tesla is one of them. Some of the funds were allocated through state government projects after the layoffs in April. For example, in July, Tesla received $1.8 million from Maryland to install fast charging stations that can complete rapid charging in 30 minutes (Tesla's Superchargers can allow cars to travel up to 200 miles, or about 322 kilometers, after 15 minutes of charging according to Tesla's official website). In August, Tesla also received $2.9 million to install six charging stations in Arizona. Despite continuous government subsidies, the expansion of Tesla's Supercharger network has still slowed significantly in the past three months. Some media believe that this is because the team responsible for new electric vehicle charging stations and charging stations was disbanded due to the layoffs in April. An article from Wall Street News in early May mentioned that Tesla CEO Musk suddenly disbanded the entire Supercharger team of the company after his visit to China in April, from executives to sales staff, and even on-site construction supervisors, involving hundreds of employees worldwide, including Rebecca Tinucci, the global senior director of Supercharger who had worked at Tesla for six years. The article stated that Musk's unexpected layoffs plunged the entire industry into confusion and turmoil. In mid-April, Mike Snyder, the head of Tesla's Super Battery Megapack business, revealed in an internal email that Musk believed the Supercharger network was crucial to Tesla's future. The layoffs undoubtedly left many companies that had cooperation with Tesla in charging station construction confused and worried, as they had no idea about Tesla's future plans in the Supercharger field. Tesla has been a leader in the construction of electric vehicle charging networks in the United States for many years. It launched the first batch of Supercharger stations in 2012 and built the most extensive and strongest charging network in the United States in just a few years, with over 6,200 charging stations worldwide. The Tesla Supercharger network is the only national charging network in the United States and is considered a key factor in promoting public acceptance of electric vehicles. If Tesla now significantly reduces its investment in this area, the development of the entire U.S. electric vehicle market will suffer a severe setback. In early May, there were reports that shortly after dismissing nearly 500 Supercharger team employees, Tesla began rehiring these employees. The first batch of rehired employees included executives such as Max de Zegher, the North American Charging Business Director On May 5th, Musk stated that Tesla plans to invest over $500 million this year to establish thousands of new charging stations and enhance the charging network. He mentioned that this funding only covers the cost of setting up new stations and expanding, excluding operational costs, which are much higher. Some analysts believe that Musk is trying to assure customers that Tesla will continue to develop its Supercharger service, but the pace of new station construction may slow down