(Reuters) – Tesla CEO Elon Musk said on Friday that the company will spend more than $500 million this year to expand its fast charging network, days after the employees who were running the company were abruptly laid off.
“Just to reiterate: Tesla (NASDAQ:) will spend more than $500 million expanding our Supercharger network to create thousands of new chargers this year,” Musk said in a post on his social media platform X.
“This only relates to new sites and expansions, without taking into account operations costs, which are much higher,” he said.
After layoffs last week, Musk said Tesla plans to expand the Supercharger network but at a slower pace to new locations.
Electric vehicle makers are adopting Tesla's North American charging standard, bringing the company's superchargers closer to becoming the industry standard at the expense of a competing shared charging system.
However, Musk's decision to cancel his electric vehicle charging team derails plans to roll out new fast charging stations and may delay President Joe Biden's efforts to electrify US highways.
The Biden administration has allocated $5 billion to states over five years to build 500,000 electric vehicle chargers as part of the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Program, and Tesla has been among the biggest winners of that federal money so far.