How about this for an approach to dealing with journalists – don’t deal with them at all?
If that seems odd – and perhaps something you would not expect to read in this media training blog – it is worth considering that this strategy seems to have been adopted by Tesla, the world’s most valuable car maker.
The car giant has reportedly dissolved its public relations team in the US, leaving journalists with no-one to formally contact about stories.
I say ‘reportedly’ because none of the stories I have read have been able to get a comment from the company on the story – presumably because there is no longer anyone around to deal with such requests.
According to a report in Electrek last week, the PR department was disbanded earlier this year and, although there were hopes it would try to build a new one, that has not happened.
Tesla dissolves its PR department - a new first in the industry https://t.co/iItPGh7DjT by @fredericlambert
— Electrek.Co (@ElectrekCo) October 6, 2020
How will this work?
Well, for now at least, it seems to leave CEO Elon Musk as the brand’s main communicator and he has, at times used his Twitter feed to break news about the company and its technology.
The plan perhaps now is to put even more emphasis on communicating directly with that committed audience.
So, what does this mean for Tesla’s media relations and is it an approach other organisations could adopt?
Here are our thoughts:
Short-sighted
The new arrangement seems to mean that the only way journalists can get a response from the company is through Mr Musk on social media.
But with almost 40million followers, many of whom seem to be superfans who like to lavish praise on him, it seems doubtful that he would see many press inquiries posted on there, let alone respond to them.
If journalists cannot check the accuracy of information, verify reports and get responses to stories then Tesla can’t complain about inaccurate and unfavourable coverage.
Right man?
But, in any case, the boss doesn’t seem to be particularly keen on journalists or the media.
He recently publicly complained about the coverage of Tesla’s September ‘Battery Day’ event, saying it “showed a sad reflection of their understanding,” even though journalists were not able to ask questions during his presentation.
And he has previously blasted the media for describing him as a billionaire.
That sensitivity about factually accurate information and coverage he doesn’t like, perhaps suggests the billionaire boss may not be best placed to lead his company’s communication
Loose cannon
What we also know about the billionaire owner is that he has a history of being a bit of a loose cannon on social media.
You may recall, for example, that in 2018, one of his Twitter meltdowns, in which he launched an attack on one of the divers who took part in the Thai cave rescues, wiped $2 billion off the company’s shares and generated widespread negative media coverage.
It wasn’t a great look at the time and, whether it is social media or mainstream media, you would want someone with a bit of a thicker skin responding to media issues and posts.
And without the safety-net of a communications team that can handle the fall-out of those gaffes, the reputational damage could be greater in future.
Optics
This decision will divide opinion and some of the company’s superfans will see it as a masterstroke, even though the company has previously stated that media coverage, alongside word of mouth, is the main driver of its sales leads.
Many more, however, will wonder why the company doesn’t want to engage with the media.
And the optics are not good. The unwillingness to open itself to scrutiny, face difficult questions and provide a response to negative stories could easily be seen as Tesla having something to hide.
And that could hit sales at some point because if Tesla doesn’t engage with the media, will journalists review its products? A test drive with a YouTuber is one thing, but many more want to read about the experience a credible, trusted journalist had with the product before they take the next step towards parting with their cash.
Crisis
Arguably the biggest test of this approach will be how the company responds when things go wrong and it finds itself in crisis media management mode.
How would it cope?
Would Mr Musk be able to meet the tight timeframe you now have for responding to a crisis incident and trying to take control of the narrative?
How would journalists be able to confirm the details of what had happened? Would Tesla remain silent, ignore requests for information from journalists, and potentially allow inaccurate information to flourish?
More questions than answers, but this seems to be a particular vulnerability of Tesla’s new approach.
And there are plenty of examples of where poorly managed crises have caused lasting damage to a brand’s reputation.
Overall, Tesla’s new approach is a high-risk one, even for a company led by a CEO who has a reputation for taking risks.
It is hard to see it working or other organisations being tempted to follow its example.
Time will tell if it will have to perform a U-turn.
Media First are media and communications training specialists with over 35 years of experience. We have a team of trainers, each with decades of experience working as journalists, presenters, communications coaches and media trainers.
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