Tesla's shares experienced a 5% decline on Tuesday.
Going round and round with Tesla (TSLA -3.36%) stock, the fastest electric roller coaster in town, took a 4.9% dive before noon ET on Tuesday. Yesterday, it had surged 15% after news broke that Elon Musk would be discussing Full Self-Driving (FSD) technology with China's premier. But why the reversal now? Tesla is letting go of its beloved Supercharger EV charging team, with no shortage of senior execs and long-time veterans heading out the door.
Whispers about Tesla from Electrek
It's no secret that Tesla is making cuts, with a 10% workforce reduction in response to a slump in electric vehicle sales reporting[1]. But today's news extends even to the senior executives and the entire Supercharging team[1]. That's 500 more employees biting the dust. And among them, Rebecca Tinucci, Tesla's senior director of EV charging, who scored a major victory for Tesla last year by convincing other carmakers to adopt Tesla's NAC charging standard for their electric vehicles.
Is Tesla Stock a Sell?
Investors should certainly be ticked off about the news, for it seems to suggest that Tesla may be pulling back its Supercharging station development, which could mean less growth for a company that's often considered the ideal "gas station of the future." Once upon a time, Tesla appeared to be leading the charge (pun intended) in terms of government subsidies and Supercharger network expansion. Now, the company's seemingly abandoning its advantage by voluntarily giving it up.
But some would argue that Tesla's already "won" the charging game, what with the rest of the industry accepting Tesla's NAC technology as a charging standard. And while one could say that the Supercharging team is no longer needed, letting them go feels like a bone-headed move. It's hard to imagine that will do anything positive for Tesla's stock, morale, or the EV charging market overall.
Sources:
- Electrek.com (https://electrek.co)
- Marketwatch.com (https://www.marketwatch.com)
- Motleyfool.com (https://www.fool.com)
- Cnbc.com (https://www.cnbc.com)
- Techcrunch.com (https://techcrunch.com)
Despite Tesla's decision to downsize its Supercharger EV charging team, causing concerns amongst investors due to potential impacts on growth and the EV charging market, some argue that the company has already 'won' the charging game with the acceptance of its NAC technology as a standard by other automakers. However, the move to let go of key team members is viewed as a questionable decision that might negatively impact Tesla's stock and morale. In light of these developments, strategizing about finance and investing in Tesla shares might require careful consideration.