After a Tesla Model S caught fire in early October, the company’s stock prices momentarily fell as the public became wary of the Tesla brand. Numerous blog posts and websites depicted the all-electric Model S engulfed in flames on a busy highway. The incident occurred after a piece of metal punctured the high-tech armor plating of the battery compartment. The event provided Tesla with a PR dilemma, but the company wisely addressed the incident head on, and eventually used the event to prove how safe the Model S truly is.
After independent testing by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, (NHTSA) the Model S was announced to be the safest car in history. But, the car fire led the public to believe otherwise. With the stock prices plummeting, Tesla needed to implement a PR strategy to drive the critics away. The information came from Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk. From Musk’s Twitter, he linked a blog post that he wrote on the company website. In the blog, Musk mentioned facts that revealed the true safety of the car. The company, still in its infancy (selling more than 2,250 Roadsters since 2008 and an initial order for 6,500 of the Model S in October of 2011) has logged millions of miles with limited incidents.
Musk posted in his blog about the fire ratio of his electric vehicle compared to the other standard gasoline-powered cars. Musk pointed out that, “One for every 100 million miles driven in a Tesla” has resulted in a fire, “while one gas-powered vehicle catches fire for every 20 million miles traveled.”
Due to the popularity of the Model S, and the growing popularity of the electric vehicle, the event was not about to go unnoticed. This car fire threatened to be a press nightmare. Although the news came with minor consequences to shareholders and the view of the company, the CEO used this press spotlight opportunity to prove how safe his cars truly are. Tesla even went one step further to underscore their great customer relations by providing the affected owner with a loaner Tesla.
Tesla turned a situation that had the potential to end very badly into an opportunity to sell their product even harder. The lesson here is to not be overwhelmed during such an event. It is vital to address the situation and the concerns the consumers might have head on. By staying true to their product, Tesla’s PR strategy avoided a potential company crisis.