Knightshade
Well-Known Member
If you search their SEC filings for marketing, you'll find they do spend money on it. Putting on EVents, maintaining and updating the web site, showing up at trade shows (they were actually at Tokyo Motor Show 2019, I was there and saw them (which was a surprise), running the stores, etc. can be considered marketing.
SEC Filing | Tesla, Inc. says
Oddly, the previous year's SEC filing had had some discrepancies on years that overlapped.
SEC Filing | Tesla, Inc.
If you visit Search for Jobs | Tesla and search either for marketing, or select job category marketing & communications, you'll find a non-zero # of openings.
Couple things here-
1) Yup- unlike some folks in the thread I can happily admit when someone has better facts- they do in fact spend on marketing.
2) $0 spend on advertising I believe would be the correct statement. While I recognize your quote has the word advertising in it because they lump all 3 things together- the same document also says this:
Historically, we have been able to generate significant media coverage of our company and our products, and we believe we will continue to do so. Such media coverage and word of mouth are the current primary drivers of our sales leads and have helped us achieve sales without traditional advertising and at relatively low marketing costs
(bold added)
So marketing is not $0 (launch events, car shows, keeping stores open etc) but they don't pay for advertising.
Indeed as Elon Musk mentioned on the recent Q4 call-
Elon Musk said:It's hard to think of a similar product with such strong demand that it can generate more than $20 billion in revenue with zero advertising spend. I think that's like where we do say that from time-time and I think it's often overlooked, but to have the highest demand electric vehicle in the world with no advertising spend is I think quite remarkable and speaks to the nature of the product and the fact that the product itself is compelling enough to generate that demand without much of advertising.
(bold added)
So my use of the term marketing was absolutely wrong, advertising would've been the correct term.
Apologies for the error, and thanks again for catching it (and for actually sourcing your correction!)