Tesla quietly steps back from Washington: What's behind the company's new strategy
Tesla made big changes to its Washington DC team last year‚ letting go of key staff members. The car-makers move affected its ability to shape important policies about electric cars and self-driving tech
Last year‚ Elon Musk made a quick-and-decisive move to down-size Teslas Washington DC team (which included firing top-level policy experts). The car-makers government-affairs department went radio-silent: messages to key staff members didnt get any response
The shake-up was part of a larger clean-up that turned a once-busy policy hub into an empty space — according to someone close to the situation who wanted to stay un-named. This change affected several policy areas where Tesla used to be super-active:
- Electric car charging stations roll-out
- Self-driving car rules
- Industry standards development
- Government incentives programs
The companyʼs step-back from DC erased about 5 years worth of work: building connections making partnerships and setting-up channels to talk with policy makers. This move came at a time when car-makers need strong government ties to push forward new tech development; but Tesla chose a different path
