Tesla CEO Elon Musk has had a massive online following for years, due in part to his online presence. He's outspoken and has sort of played the role of a comedian over the years while really being the sole spokesperson for Tesla. Many would argue that Musk "IS" Tesla, but it hasn't felt that way since he got an itch to buy Twitter, and his absence and attitude shift became more obvious once he took the helm at the social media company.
While Tesla does have an active PR department in China, and perhaps others parts of the world, the company's press team went away in the US years ago. Tesla does have its own social media channels, as does SpaceX, but Musk has always been the main communicator for the companies, especially on our shores.
Not long after Musk decided to buy Twitter, it started to become clear that he was distracted, not only by the prospects of the acquisition itself, but also by the financial mess it became, the politics involved, and the list goes on and on. To this day, Musk says he's still fully committed to his role at Tesla, he touts the EV maker's continued successes, and even notes that he hasn't missed any meetings, but many would still argue that something has clearly changed.
Whether or not Musk is still doing his thing at Tesla behind the scenes isn't likely what's bothering people, but rather, it's the lack of Musk's positivity and Tesla talk on their social media feeds that seems to be worrying them. And, according to Electrek, the data shows that Tesla has made an obvious effort to ramp up communication over the last few months while Musk has become seemingly absent and stirring up controversy.
Things are always developing at Tesla, and there are always many unanswered questions. Musk has sort of served as the gateway to answers and solutions over the years, and his fans have come to appreciate and expect it from him. If he's not going to serve in that role now due to his time at Twitter, it may be a better time than any for Tesla to bring back a US-based PR department.
It appears as though other leaders at Tesla have taken notice, because the company started tweeting about its vehicles and products, which is rare. As you may have seen, Tesla has even started to put together videos and full Twitter threads outlining and touting products and features. The following are recent examples of such:
After it became clear to Electrek that Tesla was tweeting much more often, it took a look at the data. As you can see from the chart below, there's an obvious spike over the past months:
The publication goes on to share that Tesla is also using Instagram more often now. In addition, it's putting together more blog posts for its website. In fact, Tesla only posted two blogs from January to August 2022. However, since then, it has already posted six.
Have you noticed the trends shared in this article? Do you feel it's time for Tesla to bring back a PR department? If Musk were to finally step down as Twitter's CEO, do you think it would make a notable difference? Leave us your thoughts in the comment section below.
