Swedish electric vehicle drivers were met with long lines at charging stations over the weekend as sympathy strikes continue to jar charging infrastructure.
According to reports, vacationers hoping to get in some skiing over the weekend sat in car lines for hours. Swedish media reported lines stretched hundreds of meters and over 150 cars long.
Responding to complaints from Swedish Tesla customers, company officials blamed the electrician and maintenance strikes in the country.
“As forecast, 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 Supercharger manager Max de Zegher wrote on X. “Tesla Superchargers are critical infrastructure, especially for peak travel days like this.”
Due to the strikes, new Superchargers in the region can’t be connected to the power grid, and old charging stations may not get repaired.
According to Mr. de Zegher, Tesla would have energized hundreds of Superchargers in the country if it weren’t for the wave of sympathy strikes that popped up in Sweden last year.
The strikes began in October 2023, when around 130 Tesla mechanics voted to organize under the representation of the Swedish trade union IF Metall. Tesla refused to collectively bargain with the newly formed union, leading to a mechanics strike.
Sympathy strikes soon followed, with nearly all unionized labor in Sweden coming out against Tesla for refusing to bargain. Garbage, dockworkers, electricians, mail workers and maintenance workers are on strike against Tesla.
Workers in similar industries across Scandinavia have also launched sympathy strikes against Tesla, complicating vehicle deliveries.
Tesla has reportedly made no effort to quell the work stoppage, working instead to find ways around the strikers. Until recently, the company has claimed the strikes have made little impact on its overall business in the region. However, on Tuesday the company announced it was seeking a court order to force Sweden’s Transport Agency to provide access to license plates, which portal workers have refused to deliver.
