Tesla dissolves its PR department
electrek.co
Tesla dissolves its PR department
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Re: Tesla dissolves its PR department
#2Can someone with experience with this help me understand the point of a PR team to talk to press? As an outsider, it just looks like another form of marketing—-never confirm or deny anything and just put out press releases that are filled with business jargon. And when it’s actual a sticky situation, any communication is going to be drafted by legal or execs. Maybe I’m wrong though.
Re: Tesla dissolves its PR department
#3Can someone with experience with this help me understand the point of a PR team to talk to press? As an outsider, it just looks like another form of marketing—-never confirm or deny anything and just put out press releases that are filled with business jargon. And when it’s actual a sticky situation, any communication is going to be drafted by legal or execs. Maybe I’m wrong though.
1. It's a skill that needs practice and most professionals are not trained in. 2. PR is an entryway for collecting and managing stakeholder questions that might warrant future board level action (in communication). 3. PR is usually close to the board and has it's own dynamic with marketing being further down the chain.
Elon dismantling PR makes sense. Probably they rubbed him the wrong way too often. Why bother.
Re: Tesla dissolves its PR department
#4Can someone with experience with this help me understand the point of a PR team to talk to press? As an outsider, it just looks like another form of marketing—-never confirm or deny anything and just put out press releases that are filled with business jargon. And when it’s actual a sticky situation, any communication is going to be drafted by legal or execs. Maybe I’m wrong though.
Legal and execs will make sure you won't get sued. They won't make sure you don't alienate all your customers away.
Re: Tesla dissolves its PR department
#5Can someone with experience with this help me understand the point of a PR team to talk to press? As an outsider, it just looks like another form of marketing—-never confirm or deny anything and just put out press releases that are filled with business jargon. And when it’s actual a sticky situation, any communication is going to be drafted by legal or execs. Maybe I’m wrong though.
So? That's one of the ways to avoid PR snafus. PR departments are added after snafus like this one, which have nothing to with legal and execs drafting responses, but normal day to day communication with the userbase.
https://www.polygon.com/2019/8/18/20811014/apex-legends-iron...
Re: Tesla dissolves its PR department
#6Can someone with experience with this help me understand the point of a PR team to talk to press? As an outsider, it just looks like another form of marketing—-never confirm or deny anything and just put out press releases that are filled with business jargon. And when it’s actual a sticky situation, any communication is going to be drafted by legal or execs. Maybe I’m wrong though.
1. It's a skill that needs practice and most professionals are not trained in. 2. PR is an entryway for collecting and managing stakeholder questions that might warrant future board level action (in communication). 3. PR is usually close to the board and has it's own dynamic with marketing being further down the chain. Elon dismantling PR makes sense. Probably they rubbed him the wrong way too often. Why bother.
But so what good does a PR team do. Maybe for Tesla specifically not much. It's like how Border Cafe in Harvard Square used to be - always so busy with hour+ waits that there is no need to bother with reservations.
Re: Tesla dissolves its PR department
#7Can someone with experience with this help me understand the point of a PR team to talk to press? As an outsider, it just looks like another form of marketing—-never confirm or deny anything and just put out press releases that are filled with business jargon. And when it’s actual a sticky situation, any communication is going to be drafted by legal or execs. Maybe I’m wrong though.
1. It's a skill that needs practice and most professionals are not trained in. 2. PR is an entryway for collecting and managing stakeholder questions that might warrant future board level action (in communication). 3. PR is usually close to the board and has it's own dynamic with marketing being further down the chain. Elon dismantling PR makes sense. Probably they rubbed him the wrong way too often. Why bother.
I can only assume he wants to run the PR show himself by going on Joe Rogan and twitter. His man-of-the-people strategy does seem to have some merit. "Elon Musk" is arguably a stronger brand than Tesla.
Re: Tesla dissolves its PR department
#8Also read the linked jalopnik post that sparked the top elecktrek post. It's informative and funny.
https://jalopnik.com/teslas-pr-department-hasnt-responded-to...
Re: Tesla dissolves its PR department
#9Can someone with experience with this help me understand the point of a PR team to talk to press? As an outsider, it just looks like another form of marketing—-never confirm or deny anything and just put out press releases that are filled with business jargon. And when it’s actual a sticky situation, any communication is going to be drafted by legal or execs. Maybe I’m wrong though.
It'd be an interesting strategy - you could just say to reviewers 'if you want to review our cars then buy one yourselves.
Re: Tesla dissolves its PR department
#10Can someone with experience with this help me understand the point of a PR team to talk to press? As an outsider, it just looks like another form of marketing—-never confirm or deny anything and just put out press releases that are filled with business jargon. And when it’s actual a sticky situation, any communication is going to be drafted by legal or execs. Maybe I’m wrong though.
It's great to talk to a press if the press has goals aligned with the company: make people more aware of a product / service. As an example my girlfriend wrote a book, she talked to the press about it, which made interesting content for the newspaper and the radio, and got some recognition in return for free.
But as Tesla doesn't pay for advertising (unlike its ICE competitors), the incentives are not aligned, so Tesla and the press had bad relations for a long time.