Four months after establishing its marketing department, the car maker has abandoned it.
Reports claim that Tesla laid off their entire marketing department just four months after they were created. This was a hasty move to reverse its fledgling advertising.
Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla Motors Inc. said that in 2023 “the brand will be a global leader.”Try a bit of advertising to see what happens” was partly inspired by the purchase of Twitter, a social media platform (later renamed X).
The entire team was cut on Monday, as part of a wider round of layoffs. Bloomberg News. In Europe, a small team of marketing staff has been retained.
Musk added insult to injury by responding to a Bloomberg article that criticized the Tesla brand for its “generic” advertising and the fact it did not highlight what was great about Tesla ownership. Musk responded: “Exactly. These ads could have been for any vehicle.
It remains to be determined what this will mean for Tesla in terms of its commitment to advertising. Musk once said he hated advertising and it’s reasonable to assume he hasn’t been impressed by the first efforts.
Range inflation is an indication that Tesla has forgotten its customersThe announcement comes during a challenging time for Tesla, which is struggling with an increasing amount of competition and a poorer brand image. Tesla is launching a series of heavy promotional activities to stave-off competition from China, and other US firms. This was noted by Marketing Week’s columnist Mark Ritson described Manufacturers describe this as “an intractable, and sometimes existential situation”.
Ritson warned Tesla’s brand equity, which was previously impressive, is being “commodified” by price reductions.
Tesla is vulnerable because of its own strength. Tesla’s vulnerability could increase with each major discounting event,” warned he.
The share price of this company has dropped regularly every month since December 2023. Revenue has increased, but profit margins are tightening.
Tesla did not respond to Marketing Week’s comment request.