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A Tesla Model 3 (Photo by John Keeble/Getty Images)
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Tesla said advertising was useless. Then sales slowed down.

One year after starting to run ads, Tesla has yet to figure out its advertising strategy.

Jack Raines

In May 2019, Elon Musk tweeted that Tesla “does not advertise or pay for endorsements. Instead, we use that money to make the product great.”

Four years later, at Tesla’s 2023 annual shareholder meeting, Musk changed his tune after acquiring Twitter, a company that makes money from selling ads.

"There's obviously a lot of people that follow the Tesla account and my account on Twitter — to some degree it is preaching to the choir and the choir is already convinced… we’ll try a little advertising and see how it goes,” Musk said, answering an audience question.

That advertising, it appears, has not gone well.

In March, Tesla started running ads on Musk’s newly acquired social media platform. Then, on April 22, Tesla fired its entire 40-person ad content team just four months after it launched, with Elon Musk commenting, “the ads were far too generic - could’ve been any car.” One day later, in what looks like an advertisement in all but name, American Idol judge Katy Perry tweeted a picture of her standing in front of a Cybertruck: “thx for delivery @ elonmusk.”

Why did Musk change his tune about advertising in the first place? Well, in 2019 when Musk was proudly anti-advertising, Tesla’s deliveries almost doubled from 63,000 in Q1 to 112,000 in Q4. However, growth has since slowed, with deliveries declining year over year by 8.5% in Q1 2024.

Advertising is an important growth strategy for automakers, especially in the US, where GM, Stellantis, Ford, and Toyota each spent more than $1 billion in 2022, so as sales slow for Tesla, it makes sense they would take ads for a test drive.

However, Tesla seems to be struggling to find its stride in advertising after 11 months, and the company advertising Musk’s cars on Musk's site feels redundant.

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Starbucks issues apology after viral “Bearista” cup meltdown

Holiday cheer turned into chaos this week for Starbucks after the coffee giant’s new “Bearista” holiday cup sent fans into a frenzy. 

Dropped alongside its 2025 holiday menu, the $30 beanie-wearing glass bear tumbler sparked long lines, sellouts, and even in-store scuffles before Starbucks stepped in with an apology.

“The excitement for our merchandise exceeded even our biggest expectations,” the company said in a statement to People. “Despite shipping more Bearista cups to our coffeehouses than almost any other item this holiday season, the Bearista cup and some other items sold out fast.”

Within hours of launch, frustrated fans flooded Starbucks’ social media pages and even store hotlines. Some customers waited in line before dawn and others said their stores received only a handful of cups. In one Houston location, the craze even turned physical, with police reportedly called to break up a brawl. Meanwhile, the cup is already reselling on sites like eBay, with listings topping $600.

“We understand many customers were excited about the Bearista cup and apologize for the disappointment this may have caused,” Starbucks said. While in-store customers may be upset, investors seem happy about the viral hit, as the stock has risen over 3% on Friday.

If you’re still hoping for a Bearista at market price, that may not be on order: the chain didn’t disclose how many cups were made or whether a restock is planned.

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Target tells workers to smile, wave, and greet shoppers if they come within 10 feet of them

Target just rolled out a new rule for store employees: smile, make eye contact, and greet or wave when a shopper comes within 10 feet — and if they get closer, within four feet, ask whether they need help or how their day is going, according to a new Bloomberg report.

Dubbed the 10-4 program internally, the rule mirrors rival Walmarts own 10-foot policy, formalizing behavior Target had previously only encouraged.

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Monster surges on energy drink buzz, while Celsius sinks on distribution concerns

Shares of Monster Beverage climbed 5% after the bell on Thursday, and held most of those gains into early trading on Friday, following strong Q3 results.

The energy drink giant topped market expectations, with quarterly sales up 17% year over year to $2.2 billion and adjusted net profits growing 41% to $524.5 million — 11% ahead of Wall Street’s estimates. In the report, Monster highlighted its zero-sugar line and new product launches, with a stack of novel flavors already released this year, as bright spots.

During a call with analysts, Chief Executive Hilton Schlosberg said that the global energy drink category “remains healthy with robust growth,” The Wall Street Journal reported, adding that demand for more affordable caffeinated drinks is rising as coffee has become “really expensive.”

Meanwhile, rival beverage business Celsius saw shares fall as much as 23% on its Q3 results yesterday — despite beating expectations, with revenue jumping 173% — largely due to concerns about a change in the company’s distribution channel, as its newly acquired Alani Nu brand joins the PepsiCo distribution network.

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