By 
Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced Tuesday night the company will begin advertising its products for the first time.
"So I guess I should say advertising is awesome, and everyone should do it," Musk said at Tesla's 2023 annual shareholder meeting in Austin. "We will try out a little advertising and see how it goes."
The decision represents a hard about-face for the Tesla boss, who for years has routinely stood against any sort of advertising for the brand.
"Tesla does not advertise or pay for endorsements," Musk said in a 2019 tweet. "Instead, we use that money to make the product great." Later in the year, he tweeted "I hate advertising."
The turnaround decision is likely a tactic to keep investors happy in a slowing economy, Automotive News speculates. Tesla cut prices significantly in January in an attempt to boost sales and compete against the rising number of all-electric offerings from legacy brands like Hyundai.
Road & Track staff writer with a taste for high-mileage, rusted-out projects and amateur endurance racing.
