There’s no denying the meteoric rise of Tesla. The automaker is one of few companies to have achieved a $1 trillion market cap and has set the benchmark for EVs in multiple aspects, causing legacy automakers to play catchup. In doing so, it would be fair to say that CEO Elon Musk tore up the rule book, for better or worse. But one aspect has come under increased scrutiny since the billionaire’s Twitter takeover: Tesla’s non-existent PR department.
Twitter Becomes Tesla’s Defecto PR Arm
Since Musk made his $44 billion acquisition of Twitter, Tesla appears to have ramped up its output on the platform. The @tesla account has been responsible for several announcements, including a tweet that Musk and Governor Gavin Newsom would be making an address about Tesla’s Californian engineering headquarters.
The problem with this approach, however, is without a dedicated PR team, some of the messages have become a tad confusing. Tesla’s Twitter account had to issue a clarifying tweet after several news outlets reported mistakenly that the firm’s global headquarters was moving back from Texas, and not just its engineering HQ which is located at Palo Alto, California.
A Return To Ads?
Another interesting development as Tesla’s Twitter account has been stepped up is the reintroduction of short 30-second videos. The company’s new “Ultra Red” paint option, for instance, was announced to the world via such a clip, looking suspiciously like the slickly-produced car commercials Musk viewed as a waste of time and resources that would be better spent on improving the product.
Read: Musk’s Tweet About Taking Tesla Private Cost Investors Millions, Court Hears
However, according to Bloomberg, the increased presence of Tesla on Twitter could also be a part of another plan to drive up engagement on the social media platform. With Tesla posting news, jobs, and even live-streaming events on its Twitter page, there’s no question how the platform is being positioned for the brand.
Why Investors Want Musk To Rehire The PR Team
There’s still a question over how far Tesla can continue to operate without a Public Relations team. Using Twitter as an outlet for all-updates-Tesla makes sense to shareholders as engagement is increased. However, not everyone is happy that Musk took on the social media giant in the first place. In order to finance the deal, Musk had to part with billions of dollars of Tesla stock, with the automaker’s shares plummeting some 65 percent in 2022.
Meanwhile, having a team to quickly correct misinformation – or better still, ensure it doesn’t exist in the first place – could reduce the volatility of the share price. Other PR snafus may have been avoided altogether too, including Musk tweeting about the war in Ukraine and Keith Olbermann during Tesla’s recently-held investor day, during a time when the CEO’s focus on the automaker has come under scrutiny.
Should Elon Musk reinstate a team to handle Tesla’s public relations, or is the current approach with Twitter one that should be doubled down on?
