Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has made Tesla resemble a technology brand rather than an automobile brand, and he regularly tweets company updates from his personal Twitter handle. In the spirit of aspirational leadership, Musk announced the Hyperloop, a pneumatically powered tube that can theoretically shuttle passengers between Los Angeles and San Francisco in 35 minutes compared to five hours today. The catch: it’s a futuristic product without a delivery date, but for Musk and his cult following, that’s okay.
Musk has crafted for himself a persona that is both highly aspirational and personally accountable. He personally authored a blog post in the aftermath of Tesla cars catching fire, making a staunch defense of Tesla’s product and consequently of his own brand identity—an identity that is always-on, prepared to deal with blows to the brand.
Musk is a rare entrepreneur who is both internally and externally a champion of the brand. His social media reputation management for Tesla keeps the brand accessible, and he is hands-on on the business side (he is known to work 100 hours a week). His system of aspirational branding has positioned Tesla at the forefront of emerging technology, giving it the legitimacy to continue pushing the envelope. In short, Musk has ensured that his internal and external brand management reinforce and strengthen one another.
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