Tesla’s sudden move to lay off most of its Supercharger division shocked the electric vehicle industry, halted construction plans, and left pretty much anyone paying attention baffled.

The Information reported late Monday that Musk is laying off around 500 employees on its Supercharger team in a move that one supplier has described as a "sharp kick in the pants." The team is responsible for building its global network of superfast EV chargers.

On Tuesday, Elon Musk laid off more employees at Tesla, including Rebecca Tinucci, the head of EV charging, and her entire team. The surprise move comes because the company needs to be "absolutely hard core about headcount and cost reduction," as Musk said in a memo to employees first reported by The Information.