Uber Taps Former Tesla Charger Division Director to Oversee EV Shift
Uber Technologies Inc. has hired Rebecca Tinucci, a former Tesla Inc. executive, to oversee the ride-hailing platform’s shift to electric vehicles. The new veteran has helped open up the automaker’s charging network to other car brands.
Tinucci will begin as global head of sustainability on Sept. 16, according to an internal company announcement obtained Tuesday by Bloomberg News. She will report to Andrew Macdonald, the chief executive officer of the company’s ride-hailing business.
In the new role, Tinucci will oversee Uber’s transition to a zero-emissions platform. The company aims to have all of its rides and deliveries globally powered by zero-emission vehicles by 2040. The company is also working to eliminate unnecessary plastic waste from restaurant deliveries and adopt more sustainable packaging.
Tinucci’s experience “will be an incredible asset to our team at Uber,” Macdonald said in the email to employees.
At Tesla, Tinucci helped broker charging station deals with automakers including Rivian Automotive Inc., Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Co. The partnerships gave thousands of drivers access to Tesla’s previously proprietary network of Superchargers, allowing the company to expand that revenue stream.
“Rebecca is a highly effective leader, and thanks to her and her team’s work, EV owners will have greater access to reliable, renewable charging,” said Alan Wexler, GM’s senior vice president of strategy and innovation, who worked with Tinucci to craft a charging agreement with Tesla.
Meanwhile, Uber is forging its own partnerships with electric vehicle manufacturers, charging network providers and cities. The company wants to make it easier and cheaper for millions of ride-sharing drivers and delivery people to switch to electric vehicles.
It hasn’t been an entirely smooth process. Chief Executive Officer Dara Khosrowshahi warned earlier this year that the company was at risk of falling behind on its goals. To further the effort, Uber recently announced a partnership with Chinese automaker BYD Co. to put 100,000 cars on the ride-share platform outside the U.S. Uber also led a $6.5 million seed round for itselectric, a Brooklyn, New York, startup that plans to roll out curbside charging systems nationwide this year.
Uber aims to reach its zero-emissions goal in the U.S., Canada and European cities by 2030, with a global target of 2040. It still has a long way to go. At the end of the first quarter, Uber said 8.2 percent of ride-share miles in the U.S. and Canada were completed in zero-emission vehicles. In Europe, that figure was nine percent.
At Tesla, Tinucci oversaw the roughly 500-person Supercharging team, a division that was slashed by Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk as part of broader job cuts. The layoffs, which followed disappointing first-quarter sales, came as a shock because Tesla had built an enviable charging business.
About a year before Musk fired Tinucci and much of her team, she was one of two women who shared a stage with Musk at an investor day that showcased the bank of executives behind the CEO. Though Tesla reinstated some of Tinucci’s team within weeks, she did not return.
Tesla has also emerged as a potential rival to Uber. Investors have worried that Tesla’s planned robotaxi, prototypes of which Musk will unveil at an event in October, could threaten Uber’s business model of paying independent drivers to ferry passengers around.
Khosrowshahi has downplayed those fears, saying in an August earnings call that Uber will be “an indispensable partner” for all autonomous vehicle makers.
In a statement, Tinucci said Uber is at the heart of many technologies that “must accelerate a more sustainable future.”
“Electric vehicles, autonomy and robotics have the potential to significantly reduce our collective emissions,” she said. “Uber is poised to be an accelerator in this transition.”
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(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
