Tesla has started hiring back some of the almost 500 Supercharging team members that CEO Elon Musk fired late last month.
According to those familiar with the situation, Max de Zegher, the director of charging for North America, is among those who have returned. De Zegher was among the top administrators ousted by Musk late last month, along with nearly everyone else in the charging group, including Rebecca Tinucci, the senior director.
It was only recently known how many laid-off employees had been rehired. Musk and de Zegher did not respond to requests for comment.
Musk’s decision to dissolve the team startled the electric vehicle industry, as Superchargers were perhaps Tesla’s most successful product. Over the last year, the business has persuaded competitors to accept its plugs as an industry standard and inked partnerships with several of the world’s largest manufacturers to expand its network to their customers.
Following considerable criticism, Musk committed last week to invest “far over” $500 million in expanding Tesla’s network this year. Days before, the CEO stated that the company intended to deploy chargers at a slower rate, focusing on uptime and current locations.
Musk, 52, has already reversed impetuous cost-cutting moves. In 2019, he revealed that Tesla would close most of its storefronts and shift sales online, surprising many of his sales team. Ten days later, after landlords refused to allow the company out of its leases, the CEO backed down and boosted vehicle pricing.
