Tesla is starting to advertise, what has changed?
Musk said he only decided to do advertising when he was asked about it at the meeting.
Tesla told shareholders on Tuesday that it will advertise for the first time in its history.
"We will try to do some advertising and see how it works," Tesla said in response to a shareholder at the Tesla annual meeting held in Austin, Texas on Tuesday.
People have a very positive view of Tesla and its products.
But his promises - two new products expected to be launched next year and his pledge to continue as Tesla CEO in the foreseeable future - have not received the same positive response as his advertising decision.
"I didn't realize people wanted it so much," he said of advertising after the meeting.
A Huge Change
This decision is a complete change for Tesla and Tesla. The CEO has long suggested that the company does not need to advertise because he claims that Tesla electric cars are in short supply.
"Tesla does not advertise, nor does it pay for endorsements. Instead, we use that money to make the product better," he said in a tweet in 2019.
After the meeting, Tesla said that it was not until he was asked about advertising at the meeting that he decided to advertise.
One thing Tesla needs to deal with is the increasingly fierce competition from existing car manufacturers, all of whom spend most of their advertising budgets on electric cars, even those that have not yet been launched.
Competition has intensified, and rising interest rates have led to a series of price cuts for Tesla this year. These price cuts have squeezed Tesla's profit margins, although it is still more profitable than traditional car manufacturers.
His purchase of Twitter may also have changed his view of the value of advertising. Prior to Tesla's acquisition, more than 90% of the platform's revenue came from advertising. Since then, Twitter's advertisers have fled the platform.
"It's ironic that Twitter is highly dependent on advertising," he said of his past views on advertising and the challenges he faces in trying to bring advertisers back to Twitter. "I think I should say, 'Advertising is great, everyone should do it'."
