Electro-Heads Claim Tesla’s Marketing Strategy Is Losing Speed

Tesla’s sales figures in Europe have inspired Matthias Schmidt to question whether Tesla is now disturbed by the same legacy of automakers that it once disturbed with its electric cars. Now that some of these companies are finally convinced that EVs are the way to go, they are selling more in the Old Continent than the American company. Why? According to Eilis, from Electroheads, it could be due to Tesla’s marketing department – if there was one.

Eilis argues in this video that Tesla has always relied on a word of mouth sales strategy that has worked quite well until very recently. And it worked because anyone who wanted to buy an electric car with decent range had no choice but to buy a Tesla. With more options on the market, Tesla may have to start convincing customers that this is a good choice.

This is obviously not the case for what Eilis calls “the Tesla fandom”. They’re all-in regardless of what the company comes up with, so much so that Eilis says Tesla looks more like a cult than a modern business. She even underlines in the video the elements that allow her to make such a remark.

Other than these guys, everyone needs to be convinced. Tesla’s issues with build quality, reliability, and maintenance don’t help. On the contrary: when a business relies solely on word of mouth to sell, it has to be near perfect for its customers to keep recommending it to everyone. Sandy Munro cautioned about this in a recent 2021 Tesla Model 3 teardown video.

If Tesla refuses to advertise, it will have to find other ways to make its products appealing to a wider audience than the one it already takes for granted. Reducing prices is a limited strategy that can affect not only its profit margins but also the owners of its vehicles who will see their depreciation increase.

Eilis ends the video by asking what Tesla would have to do to stay competitive in such an environment. Regardless of what you think it should be, it’s clear Tesla is at an inflection point: it’s either fixing the issues customers are complaining about now to keep them recommending its vehicles, or it’s adopting a new marketing strategy. , such as advertising. It has worked for mainstream automakers for decades, regardless of what they decide to sell – and now they want to sell electric vehicles.