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Summary

• Tesla co-founder and CEO, Elon Musk, dissolves the communication department. The entrepreneur releases information through social medial platform Twitter. 
• Musk had publically criticised press in the past; believes to have a direct connection with the customers than through press.
• Tesla reduces its Model S price because of the competition facing from its highly successful Model 3. 

American electric vehicle and clean energy leader Tesla has become the first-ever automaker to disarm its public relations (PR) department. The reports, widely circulating in the media, state that the company will not have any official contact with the media in North America. 

In the last couple of years, Tesla had visibly reduced its communication with the members of the press and released most of the information related to the company or its products through social media platform Twitter. Tesla co-founder and CEO, Elon Musk prefers to release the information through his personal Twitter account or Tesla's public Twitter page that tweets the information for the media and public. 

It is believed that for the past many months, journalists from various media outlets tried to contact Tesla for information, but they did not get any response in return. 

The media reports claim that Keely Sulprizio, the last person who served the position of communications department head, left the organisation in December 2019. After that, every member of the Tesla PR and communications team left the company, or they were absorbed in other departments in the company. 

Alan Cooper, a senior member of the public relations and communications team, was made director of demand generation in February 2020. As per media reports, even he has left the company. 

Currently, the only public relations activity happening from the side of the company is that their team is organising test-drive promotions for the YouTube reviewers. The company has PR staff members in its offices in Europe and Asia, but the core global team which used to work in its US office is dissolved.

Reporters, who follow the electric vehicle and technology news, are much aware that, if they don't hear back from the Tesla PR team, that is because they don't have any. 

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Tesla cutting off direct communication with media

Industry experts are wondering how Tesla pulled off its public image and communicated its company and product information in the media without the help of the public relations department. 

Technology inventor Musk in the past had expressed his resentment about the way the media works. He claims that the media is biased about most of the information they publish. He also said that the media 'sugarcoat the lie' which had created a lot of controversy in the past. 

In 2018, Musk tweeted that because of the media's biased reporting, the public no longer respects them. Many media outlets had expressed their concerns over Musk claims. As on October 16, 2020, Elon Musk had 39.3 million followers, and he is very active, tweeting at least once a day. 

Tesla's upcoming Model 3, alike new electric vehicle, is soon to enter the market, but there is no official communication from Tesla. The information is already released in the public domain without dissemination of an official press release. The new refresh Model 3 has a lot of modifications from its previous vehicle. 

Media outlets, however, have shown their staunch criticism towards Musk decision on cutting off communication with them, citing their biased attitude. His massive fan base is always kept informed and engaged on Twitter, and Musk replies to them in whatever capacity he can. Even after publicly criticising media, his tweets make the headlines in the news. 

The entrepreneur in the past has criticised the press after the negative coverage of Tesla vehicle crashes started to appear. 

Musk in a blog said that the media's behaviour is obsessive as the delays in the production of Tesla Model 3 were always in the news. He noted that misleading clickbait articles had increased a lot. 

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Does it impact Tesla as a brand?

Experts believe that the move to disconnect entirely with the media can have much negative impact but only in the short run. Tesla is not just a car technology company, but it has also expanded its horizons in other sectors such as space. 

Elon Musk is known for bringing disruption with innovative ideas, such as Tesla selling its cars dealer-free directly to the customer. 

Its marketing strategies have also been aggressively advanced. Away from traditional media publicity procedures, its substantial presence on social media platforms has provided the company with an unconventional path to connect with the public and its shareholders. Just the news of Tesla dissolving its PR department has spread like wildfire in the press. 

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Tesla Model S price cut

Electric vehicle leader Tesla has cut down the price of its Model S. According to Tesla co-founder and CEO Elon Musk tweet the "Long Range" sedan in the United States it will not cost at US$69.420. The company also reduced the Model S price in the China market by 3%.

The Model S hit the EV market in 2012, but the Model S faced competition from automakers less priced, mass-market Model 3 sedan. Model 3 was launched in 2017, and currently, the price starts at US$37,990. 

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