Tesla scraps whatever was left of its PR department
Tesla was always rather quiet when it came to media relations, but now the electric carmaker will reportedly move on without any such department at all.
Tesla is well known for unusual strategies and atypical ways of doing things when it comes to the automotive industry, but it's now taken another bold and curious step: The electric carmaker apparently no longer has a public relations department.
According to a source at the company who spoke to Electrek, Tesla "no longer [has] a PR team." Tesla has not issued any formal statement on the decision, and without a PR team, we no longer have professional contacts to verify the disbandment.
It is true, however, that Tesla's PR department was light at best and only sparingly responded to media requests in the past year. Tesla responded to just one inquiry from Roadshow in the past six months. Curiously, its European and Asian PR departments will reportedly remain operational. Meanwhile, all past PR professionals from Tesla have moved on from the company, or taken different internal positions.
What this means for you, Roadshow readers, is we'll take every piece of Tesla news with a couple extra grains of salt. Without giving the automaker an opportunity to respond to a rumor, allegation or whatever it may be, we naturally can't give you both sides of a story, and it doesn't give the automaker an opportunity to provide any information. This is now, apparently, Tesla's choice. You'll also see a new statement in every piece of Tesla news, unless it comes directly from the automaker. We'll highlight the fact Tesla no longer takes media inquiries by saying, "Tesla does not operate a public relations department to field requests for comment."
It's also worth noting this action raises questions of transparency not only for the media, but also for investors. Going forward, it seems Tesla CEO Elon Musk's Twitter account will be the electric carmaker's microphone. Rest assured, we will continue to do our best to bring you the facts, the best insight and most in-depth knowledge on the company.
Care to comment @elonmusk...? https://t.co/pz72EXMamx
— Tim Stevens (@Tim_Stevens) October 6, 2020
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