Episode 13

What Does Tesla’s Pivot to Advertising Mean for Marketers?

For years, Tesla has been the poster child for why not every brand needs advertising. With word-of-mouth alone they became one of the most valuable companies in the world. So why is Tesla now shifting gears into advertising?

CEO Elon Musk publicly claimed to hate advertising, preferring to invest in research and development. But in a recent shareholder meeting, he changed his tune, suggesting advertising as a solution to the company’s recent growth challenges. This week, Elena, Rob and Angela dig into Tesla’s decision, how growing competition is changing the playing field for the company, and why all brands eventually need advertising to grow and reach new audiences.

Topics Covered

• [01:00] Why Tesla is launching advertising for the first time

• [05:30] How advertising affects pricing power

• [12:30] The importance of investing in product quality

• [14:00] Advertising provides greater reach than word-of-mouth marketing

• [16:30] Great advertising isn’t a solution for a bad product

• [18:00] Reviewing Tesla’s first advertisement

Resources:

2022 Statista Chart

2023 Reuters Article

2023 MarketingWeek Article

2023 BusinessInsider Article

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