The Rebranding of Elon Musk

Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning incorporated Tesla Motors  in the year 2003, naming the company after Nikola Tesla, the Serbian-American innovator and electrical engineer. However when we talk about Tesla, do we ever get to hear names of Eberhard, Tappening or Nikola Tesla ? . Tesla is hardly remembered by these names I mentioned. The fact is  Tesla is Elon Musk and vice-versa is also true . There is no denying that the branding of Tesla is Elon Musk ( who has been its CEO since 2008 ) and both seem synonymous to the World.


Ahead of the Curve

It is important to understand that Tesla has never used traditional marketing tools and have relied  majorly on a strong word of mouth and excellent PR. Elon Musk the face of  Tesla is its branding and all the publicity has been  centred around  Musk alone. Elon Musk has championed innovation and through Tesla in  particular he has always stayed ahead of the Curve. The innovation, the creativity, the rarity and the exclusivity has added that intrigue to Tesla cars which no other Automobile has been able to generate. Such has been the power of Elon Musk the brand. Tesla may not be the best car around but it is surely ahead of many. Elon Musk’s foray into space tourism has further strengthened him as a brand for technological innovation and vision which in turn has been helping Tesla. However, with the advent of Twitter, the game might just change.

Twitter Fretter

In an unprecedented move Elon Musk bought Twitter, which came as a surprise to me.  But once the acquisition was done and dusted and with Elon Musk,   an entrepreneur who thrives on technology, innovation and has an enviable ability to think beyond the existing times, at the helm, I was expecting something out of the ordinary emanating from   Twitter. Some unseen products, some breakthrough technology and a major facelift was anticipated. However what transpired was so much fret, which nonplussed me no end. Elon Musk took swift action, not in innovation , but in sacking employees.

Half of the Twitter workforce was skittled out citing heavy losses and charges introduced on the blue ticks. Staff who would have dreamt of working for an Elon Musk Company were in for a rude shock. There was a huge furore across continents with this sudden move leaving many jobless overnight. In all this mayhem which ensued some of the  staff were asked to join back too, to keep the operations functional, creating more confusion. Was this the right decision or not only time  will tell, but my perception and that of many in the World about Elon Musk the brand was affected.

Was he first an innovator or a pure businessman. Was he an exceptional visionary or a person short sighted. Why were the layoffs so profound and immediate rather than an exercise stretched diligently over a period of time. The brand of Elon Musk may have taken a dent by his actions at Twitter.

Brand Extensions and Rebranding : An exercise in caution

The Brand of Elon Musk has been caught between Twitter and Tesla, two establishments having zero similarities and it may affect Tesla more emphatically than Twitter. If the branding of the technological innovator is subdued due to the happenings at Twitter, Tesla might  face issues   due to its heavy reliability on Elon Musk the brand.  Extending an established brand into unfamiliar territory and/or trying to rebrand it  is risky as it may disturb the already established brand loyalty. Can we imagine Coca Cola venturing into the Auto Sector and McDonalds venturing into renewable energy. No we cannot as it will be difficult to identify them with their new ventures. Therefore I am finding it difficult to identify Elon Musk with Twitter.

The dust will settle down at  Twitter and I hope the staff is taken on board to shape Its future. Elon Musk would be undoubtedly having a plan and a vision for Twitter,  but so far  it is under wraps. The rebranding of Elon Musk is under way and though it is looking tough at the moment, we may still see a much stronger brand come out of it.

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