Elon Musk’s electric car firm Tesla has controversially begun advertising on X, despite the billionaire having hit out at advertisers previously.
Musk has previously been asked by Tesla fans about why the car manufacturer does not advertise – to which he replied “I hate advertising”.
Does Tesla have a marketing department that focuses on the aspects of digital marketing? Such as SEO and Google AdWords (PPC), or is that not a current necessity for the company due to You and Teslas publicly well known name?
— Diego Monroy (@realDiegoMonroy) October 28, 2019
However, in May 2023, Musk told company shareholders that Tesla would trial advertising for the first time: “We’ll try a little advertising and see how it goes,” Musk said.
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Despite this, until now, Musk has avoided advertising on X, formerly Twitter, which he acquired in October 2022.
However, X users have reported seeing Tesla adverts come up on their feeds.
Another Tesla X ad in the US.
“World’s best selling SUV” pic.twitter.com/cEgtaFmuc0
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) February 8, 2024
It comes as Tesla’s Q4 earnings were less impressive than expected, leading to a fall in the firm’s stock prices.
In November of last year, Elon Musk hit back at advertisers with a profanity-laden tirade, after many businesses began leaving the platform following his open agreement with a comment described as antisemitic.
Bob Inger, the CEO of Disney, one of the company’s which has fled X, has declined to respond to comments from Musk which include the comment “go f*** yourself”.
In November, Musk said advertisers were trying to “blackmail” him over the exit.
The social media site has faced tumbling ad revenue since the controversy.
