Tesla Exec Pins Long Wait Lines At Superchargers In Sweden On IF Metall Strike: 'Waiting In Line Like This Is Super Painful'

Tesla Inc TSLA executive Max de Zegher on Sunday pinned the long wait time at charging stations across Sweden this winter to the ongoing strikes in the region against the automaker.

What Happened: De Zegher said in a post on social media platform X on Sunday that over 100 stalls in Sweden would have energized this winter had it not been for the ongoing sympathy strikes against the automaker.

“Despite no clear path yet to getting turned on, we will also continue to invest and build sites for Swedish EV drivers, including more capacity in Malung, Käppen, Vansbro, Idre, Särna, and Sunne,” the Director of Charging for North America, Europe Middle East & Africa as well as the Asia Pacific said, implying the company has no clear deadline in sight for when the strike would end.

“Waiting in line like this is super painful, hurts EV adoption and totally fixable!”

De Zegher was responding to a video of a large number of EVs lined up at a supercharger in Sweden, waiting to charge.

As forecasted, Swedish EV drivers are suffering and EV infrastructure is not keeping up unless Superchargers get energized by the utilities blocking them from getting energized. Tesla Superchargers are critical infrastructure, especially for peak travel days like this. 100+…
— Max de Zegher (@MdeZegher) January 5, 2025

Why It Matters: Swedish trade union IF Metall commenced a strike against Tesla in October 2023 and the strike is still ongoing, with other unions joining in sympathy strikes.

IF Metall's year-long strike seeks to pressure Tesla into negotiations for collective bargaining agreements for its members. Collective bargaining agreements are an integral part of the Swedish economy, with 90% of the workforce covered by these agreements that govern crucial aspects of employment, such as wages, benefits, and working hours.

If Tesla enters into a collective bargaining agreement, it would allow the union to negotiate wages and other conditions on behalf of its workers.

Tesla, however, has previously said that its terms are as good as or better than the union’s demands.

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