Tesla seems to be quietly rebooting its press staff, as a brand new media job itemizing can now be seen on the corporate’s web site.
After Tesla made headlines for dissolving its public relations and media staff simply over 4 years in the past, the corporate now appears to be restarting its media relations efforts with a Car Communications Supervisor place listed on its careers web page. The job is situated on the firm’s manufacturing facility website in Fremont, California, and its tasks embody overseeing public-facing media initiatives in accordance with Tesla’s merchandise.
Tesla writes as follows within the job description:
Because the Car Communications Supervisor, you can be liable for managing all exterior knowledge communication referring to car applications and coordinating efforts with exterior media. This consists of intently collaborating with technical employees on car metrics, managing exterior car knowledge to attain consistency and accuracy, approving web site content material and enabling exterior media entry to evaluate product.
Your work will embody advising on new product goal setting and assessing program developments as an early customer-ambassador. You’ll work intently with a large spectrum of technical and enterprise groups along with Car Program Managers, Car Technical Leaders and firm executives to align on public dealing with knowledge and assist the world recognize the impression of Tesla merchandise.
You’ll be able to see the complete Car Communications Supervisor job itemizing right here on Tesla’s web site.
Over the previous few years, Tesla hasn’t had any form of conventional public relations staff, so the itemizing is definitely a shift from the social-media-only ethos held since late 2020. The dissolving of the PR division was anticipated to get replaced with social media, and Elon Musk since bought Twitter and turned it into X, whereas many Tesla executives have additionally began to be extra vocal on the platform.
It’s additionally not clear but whether or not Tesla will rent extra staff to work underneath a bigger umbrella of a press division, or if the corporate will maintain issues lean with simply the Car Communications Supervisor. In any case, many buyers, journalists, and common fans within the Tesla group have referred to as for Tesla to reboot PR initiatives, so it seems the corporate could also be responding to those requests or just getting ready for its subsequent stage of progress with such a staff.
Following the choice in late 2020, Elon Musk doubled down on his reasoning for the transfer, emphasizing citizen journalism and Tesla’s concentrate on the product as key causes for eliminating its PR staff. Since then, Musk has frequently defended a mannequin by which executives and staff immediately reply to inquiries on X, as a substitute of a extra conventional mannequin using a press division.
Different firms spend cash on promoting & manipulating public opinion, Tesla focuses on the product.
I belief the individuals.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 27, 2021
In April, Tesla additionally launched widespread layoffs that included its promoting staff, simply six months or so after the corporate had begun leaning again into advert efforts following an analogous pivot away to that with its media staff. Musk talked about launching “small-scale” promoting efforts final yr, and it has appeared to proceed with that technique even following the layoffs earlier this yr.
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Tesla executives are being extra vocal on X and in media appearances
