It’s time to talk about the branding enigma of Tesla. We’ve finally formed a theory as to why things are working so well for the brand, despite some major inconsistencies.
Tesla
Check out our latest #tellthetruths video to see what we think is driving the brand’s somewhat illogical success.
This video originally appeared in LinkedIn
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The Deep Truths You & Your Brand Need To Say
Transcript:
Hey, guys. It’s time we talk about Tesla. I have been wanting to talk with you about Tesla, but the whole thing is so confusing to me that it’s taken me a while to start to get some insights about what’s going on. So we’re only focusing on the car part of this company and not the solar cells and things like that. And it’s just so confusing, because it’s built on a foundation of alternative energy and this mission of saving the world. And yet if you look at their website, it looks like every other luxury car brand, and you’re like, “Dude, why are we not pulling on this meaningful layer?” So that’s the first thing that confuses me.
Then the second thing that confuses me is that Elon Musk over the last like 18 months or so is just getting more and more erratic, doing more and more bizarre things. And of course, when a brand is so tied to a cult of personality, everyone knows if they know the brand the name of the CEO, right? When it’s that tied, he starts acting crazy, the value of the brand plummets, right? Um, no. Since he’s gotten more crazy, the valuation of the brand has gotten equally insane. It’s just gone through the roof. It’s worth many, many, many times more than auto makers that are moving more cars. Like what is going on?
So it finally hit me recently. I think it’s starting to gel. I think that as much as there’s this wonderful environmental core of being electric cars, that’s not really what people are buying. When you think about… car brands are so much brands that we buy to tell ourselves and the world who we are. That crazy, rule-breaking, incredible creativity of Elon Musk’s, that’s at the core of the brand. And as he gets more and more kooky, it’s also more and more a brand that says “it’s a beautiful car, it’s a luxury car, and also I don’t maybe follow the rules. I’m doing something a little different. It looks different. It feels different. Hopefully that means I AM different.”
I think that’s what’s at the core of the brand and why this whole thing is working. No brand should ever try this. This is NUTS! I don’t think it would ever work for anyone else, but somehow it works for them. Anyway, I’m still kinda confused. Let me know what you think. I’d love to hear it. Bye!
