Tesla’s Decision to Kill EV Charging Team Could Delay Biden’s Plan to Electrify US Highways, Industry Reacts

Elon Musk’s decision to kill Tesla’s electric vehicle charging team is affecting plans to launch new fast-charging stations and could delay President Joe Biden’s efforts to expand highways to electrify the US, Reuters reports, News.ro reports.

Last year, the Biden administration announced rules for an ambitious plan to expand the nation’s charging infrastructure and support the adoption of electric vehicles.

Under the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program, the government is giving states $5 billion over five years to build 500,000 electric vehicle chargers.

Electric vehicle market leader Tesla, which also operates the largest network of fast chargers – known as Superchargers – in the US and is the recipient of the largest federal funding to date, is seen as a key part of the plan.

However, since news of the sudden changes to Tesla’s EV charging team broke, charging company executives say they have received phone calls from owners looking for a new partner for the charging projects. their private after Tesla’s retirement.

Now, charging companies are preparing for Tesla to withdraw from the federal program. This, they say, could create new problems in an already slow distribution.

“It will delay the launch of NEVI. There’s no doubt about it,” said Aatish Patel, co-founder of XCharge North America, which manufactures electric vehicle chargers for fleets and charging station operators.

If Tesla pulls out, states’ requests for NEVI-funded charging projects will begin, he told Reuters.

“Many of these stations will not be built this year or in the timetables originally ordered.”

Patel said real estate companies representing about 10 non-NEVI locations in Texas, Louisiana and New York have called since word of the layoffs came out, saying Tesla was pulling out and that they were looking for another man.

Tesla has secured funding to build chargers for 69 of the 501 NEVI-funded charging stations announced so far, according to San Francisco-based research firm EVAdoption.

“I’m talking about any NEVI centers that have received funding. They won’t go any further,” Brendan Jones, CEO of Blink Charging, told Reuters.

Blink has received three investigations in two states about several private plants from which Tesla has pulled back from layoffs, he said.

The rollout of the federal program has already been slow. The long-awaited rules regarding eligibility for federal funds were finally established early last year. Only a few federally funded charging stations were open to the public.

Since the layoffs, Musk said, in a post on his social media platform X, that Tesla plans to “grow the Supercharger network, just at a slower pace for new locations and focus more on 100% uptime and expansion existing places”.

He did not respond to Reuters questions about the impact of his decision.

On Friday, however, Musk wrote on his X social media platform that Tesla will spend more than $500 million this year to expand its fast charging network.

“Just to reiterate: Tesla spent over $500 million expanding our Supercharger network to create thousands of NEW chargers this year,” Musk said in a post on X.

He also showed that “this is only for new centers and expansions, without taking into account the operating costs, which are much higher”.

A spokeswoman for the federal Joint Office of Energy and Transportation, which oversees the NEVI program, said in an email that individual business decisions are not expected to affect government-funded EV charging projects.

States that have designated Tesla NEVI centers are closely monitoring the situation. Colorado will adjust its program as needed, said Kay Kelly, chief of transit innovation for the Colorado Department of Transportation.

Texas — the largest recipient of NEVI funds — said it expects no impact from the Tesla layoffs.

Tesla’s change of plans, however, will affect the entire electric vehicle industry. Almost all automakers decided last year to adopt Tesla’s North American Tax Standard (NACS) for their vehicles starting next year. That could benefit other charging companies — and recently laid-off Tesla workers.

“Many more NEVI plants will become available if Tesla abandons the projects it has already won or withdraws its bids. It will be an opportunity for others to jump in and fill that gap,” Rick Wilmer, CEO of charging company ChargePoint, told Reuters.

Competitors like EVgo are looking to hire those dismissed by Musk.

“If you’ve been impressed by Tesla’s recent moves, we invite you to explore the diverse range of jobs that EVgo offers,” said a talent acquisition manager at charging company EVgo in a LinkedIn post.