Elon Musk’s abrupt decision to lay off employees who ran Tesla’s electric vehicle charging business blindsided automakers gearing up to equip new EVs for customers to use the Tesla Supercharger network, industry officials and analysts said on Tuesday.
For now, General Motors, Ford and other automakers which struck deals last year to give customers access to the network said they are not changing their plans.
Tesla’s decision to open its network to rival EV manufacturers was hailed by US President Joe Biden, and opened the door for Tesla to get federal subsidies to expand the reach of its North American Charging Standard (NACS) system.
