Despite its historically anti-advertising stance, Tesla is buying ads on Musk’s platform, X (formerly Twitter), to persuade shareholders to vote for the massive compensation package, which CEO Elon Musk will receive in the form of stock options worth up to $1 trillion. Here are the details.
Tesla Runs Ads for Elon Musk
Musk had previously made it clear that he “hates advertising” and opposes advertising, saying that “while other companies spend money on advertising to manipulate public opinion, Tesla focuses on the product.” However, this stance began to shift after Musk acquired X, which is heavily dependent on advertising revenue.
Tesla accelerated this marketing offensive, which began with Google ads last week. The automaker launched a full-scale marketing campaign to persuade shareholders to vote for the package and, in return, allow the company to issue more shares.
The company is now purchasing social media ads to encourage shareholders to vote on Musk’s compensation package, running them on Musk’s privately owned platform, X. In addition to X, the ads are also running on other popular platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and Reddit.
As previously reported, Tesla’s board of directors claimed that a “yes” vote on this compensation package would determine Tesla’s future. Elon Musk, however, went even further, linking his own compensation package to the “future of the world.”
In his latest statement today, the CEO asserted that the compensation plan isn’t about money, but rather about his control over Tesla:
“It’s not about ‘pay,’ it’s about having enough influence over Tesla to ensure safety if we build millions of robots. If I can easily be fired in the future by activist shareholder advisory firms that don’t even own Tesla shares, I’m not comfortable with that future.”
Musk has previously threatened shareholders that he wouldn’t develop AI products at Tesla unless he gained 25% control, despite claiming it was crucial to the company’s future. This intense advertising campaign demonstrates Musk’s determination to gain the control he demands.
