Amid the recent slowdown in all-electric vehicle demand, most automakers are scrambling to compensate, and that includes Ford. The Blue Oval recently dialed back its planned EV investments and pushed back the planned production start dates for both the three-row Ford Explorer EV and the next-generation Ford F-150 EV, all as it plans to focus on smaller, cheaper models, as well as hybrids. Of course, automakers like Tesla – which only builds and sells EVs – don’t have that luxury, and instead, the company recently announced that it was laying off around 10 percent of its global workforce. However, a new report indicating that Tesla also laid off workers that ran its Supercharger business caused a bit of stir over the past 24 hours or so, though there doesn’t appear to be any reason for Ford EV owners to worry, according to Reuters.
Reports began flying around the web late yesterday pertaining to the fact that Tesla laid off employees who ran the company’s Supercharger team, which prompted some understandable concerns regarding the fact that Ford – along with virtually every other automaker that sells vehicles in the U.S. – had signed deals with that company that will grant owners access to its vast Supercharger network.
However, Ford has already announced that it’s still planning to move forward with its plans to give Blue Oval EV owners access to the Supercharger network, regardless. At the moment, it isn’t entirely clear what Tesla’s plan is, but reports indicate that Rebecca Tinucci – who ran the Supercharger side of the business – as well as a large portion of her staff were let go. Tesla CEO Elon Musk later stated on X that the company still plans to expand its network, “just at a slower pace for new locations and more focus on 100 percent uptime and expansion of existing locations.”
This isn’t the first bit of news stemming from Tesla in recent weeks that has caused quite the stir, as a recent report also indicated that the company had canceled its plans to build a cheap EV – a report that Musk debunked shortly thereafter. In the meantime, many Ford EV owners are apparently facing delays in receiving the adapters needed to access the Supercharger network due to supply chain issues, as Ford Authority reported earlier this week.
We’ll have more on how Tesla’s layoffs may impact Ford EV owners soon, so be sure and subscribe to Ford Authority for continuous Ford news coverage.
Comments
Ford canceled/delayed the three row Explorer EV. Toyota announced plans to introduce a three row EV. Will Ford react to such in reversing their plans?
Americans simply don’t care about EVs. Our family also joined the boycott against EVs. Even Consumer Reports recently rated EVs as less reliable than ICE vehicles.