Chapter 16: The Effects of Advertising

Tesla Generates Small Sales, Big Buzz Without Paid Ads:

 Tesla Motors has no advertising, no ad agency, no CMO, no dealer network. And that's no problem. The Palo Alto, Calif., company is breaking all the rules of automotive marketing, eschewing dealers in favor of selling through "stores" in upscale shopping malls and the internet.

Tesla has no plans to hire agencies or run ads in the near future. The in-house marketing team has only seven staffers and an internal team runs the website, where customers order directly.

"Right now, the stores are our advertising. We're very confident we can sell 20,000-plus cars a year—without paid advertising," Ms. Georgeson said. "It may be something we'll do years down the road. But it's certainly not something we feel is crucial for sales right now."

But Tesla still has hurdles. It's legally battling dealer associations in several states for the right to sell cars directly to consumers. The Model S starts at $69,000 and goes to $120,000, giving some consumers sticker shock.

Tesla Motors doesn’t just makes electric cars, it sells a slice of the future.

The cars are so good that they’re winning all the awards that gasoline cars used to win. They’re literally a better kind of car, according to both experts and regular drivers. As William Gibson would say, “The future is already here – it’s just not very evenly distributed.”

 Tesla  ad that cost only $ 1,500:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKbRAazkiWc