That's Why Tesla Stands Firm in the Storm

2024 was the year Tesla Model Y was Sweden's best-selling car – the second year in a row that the brand takes the top spot. And that despite much of the reporting around Tesla being negatively charged.

The headlines are about everything from the prolonged conflict with IF Metall over collective agreements – Tesla does not want to sign such agreements – to problems with charging stations, quality question marks, and CEO Elon Musk's political statements.

The Right Target Group

Eva Ossiansson, brand researcher at the University of Gothenburg, believes that Tesla's target group is not particularly sensitive to media image.

The customer group, primarily affluent men aged 30-60, is not as sensitive to that type of problem. The target group does not focus primarily on collective agreements when choosing a car. If the target group had primarily been women, it might have looked different, many women probably have a somewhat different view of Musk, she says.

What is it then that makes Tesla stand firm, despite the negative winds?

According to brand expert and business advisor Ieva Englund, it's about long-term thinking and a successful marketing strategy.

Tesla rarely engages in classical advertising in the way many think. Until 2024, the company had a "zero-dollar advertising policy". We don't see stylish commercials on TV, there are no ads on streets and squares boasting about the cars' excellence.

In marketing, we talk about the four Ps: price, product, place, and promotion. As a car brand, Tesla has been very unique in how they've implemented the strategy. They do everything in a way that no other car manufacturer does, says Englund.

They work with price strategy and can lower prices by having control over the entire distribution chain, which is unusual in the car world. They were the first to sell directly to consumers, at strategically selected locations. Tesla more or less invented the modern electric car, the product. Electric cars produced now are often compared to Tesla, they get promotion through competitors.

Value Clash

In a noticed post on social media, celebrity baker and Tesla driver Sébastien Boudet wrote that he feels ashamed of the car he drives, since Elon Musk has gone from being a celebrated environmental champion to spreading conspiracy theories. A discussion about what signals Tesla sends has erupted.

In the car world, it's unusual for a brand to be so strongly linked to the owner, but in other industries, it's not. For example, Apple is strongly associated with Steve Jobs, says Ieva Englund.

She continues:

For people to boycott a brand, a value clash is required, i.e., the brand's values conflict with the customer's. Frankly, I don't think Tesla customers care much about the strike. The situation with Musk and Donald Trump is more difficult. Right now, it's the Musk brand that's taking damage, but if the connection between him, Trump, and Tesla becomes too strong, a value clash may occur for those who don't sympathize with that politics.