Tesla eliminates entire US growth team formed only 4 months earlier.

Tesla has made significant changes to its marketing strategy, which included eliminating a newly formed marketing team as part of the company’s recent job cuts. The “growth content” team, consisting of about 40 employees overseen by senior manager Alex Ingram, was dissolved, and Ingram, as well as Jorge Milburn, who led the global team, were let go. Although the company has retained a small number of marketing staff in Europe, the move marks a departure from the traditional advertising push that CEO Elon Musk had approved less than a year ago.

In response to a report by Bloomberg, Musk criticized the team’s work, stating that the ads were too generic and could have been for any car. This decision represents a shift from Tesla’s previous avoidance of traditional advertising platforms such as television, radio, and online ads, which had been a successful strategy in building the brand through word-of-mouth. Despite this, Musk had expressed a willingness to experiment with advertising last year.

The growth team, led by Ingram, was created about four months ago in response to increased pressure from investors for Tesla to focus more on marketing amid a slowdown in global electric vehicle sales and heightened competition. The changes in Tesla’s marketing strategy also coincide with Musk’s acquisition of the company formerly known as Twitter, signaling a broader shift in the company’s approach. These changes are part of a larger restructuring effort, with Musk announcing significant job cuts affecting more than 10% of the global workforce.

There are reports that Musk is considering a 20% reduction, representing a potential elimination of more than 20,000 jobs. Consequently, Tesla’s shares have fallen, experiencing a more than 40% decline this year and ranking as the second-worst performer in the S&P 500 Index.