The Tendo View

As the former CEO of Tesla Motors and one of the company’s two founders, I was asked by a friend at Tendo–who worked alongside me at Tesla–to highlight the significance of blogging in the launch of my company and in the unveiling of the 100% electric Tesla Roadster.

First, a little background. Marc Tarpenning and I launched Tesla Motors in July 2003 and managed to keep a low profile, operating in stealth mode until our first prototype was unveiled three years later in July 2006 at the now famous Santa Monica launch (click here for a timeline of Tesla Motors).

In the early days, there was tremendous competitive risk in allowing information out ahead of the car’s unveiling. For this reason, we made a concerted effort to fly under the radar and maintain as a low a profile as possible. When we finally unveiled the car, we knew there would be questions. In fact, we knew that simply taking the wraps off the car would promote both a groundswell of enthusiasm as well as skepticism around a broad range of topics-political social, economic, technical, and everything in between.

We saw tackling these questions as not only an opportunity to sell the concept of a 100% electric sport car with a premium price tag attached, but also, and more importantly, to show rather than tell how we were different from big, established car companies-namely, by making ourselves accessible to the public, not just select industry insiders. Internally, we considered this approach “managed transparency,” recognizing that while we couldn’t share every nuance, we should and would strive to be as open as possible in an effort to build trust and establish a dialog about the merits of our program. My first blog post, “Attitude,” went up as the car was revealed; it announced to the world not only what we were trying to accomplish, but also why.

“Attitude” went on to log 631 responses, and I followed it up a week later with “Lotus Position,” which further elaborated on the whos, hows, and whys of Tesla Motors.

While it’s challenging making broad generalizations about how and why companies should blog, I can personally attest to the following:

Blogging promotes transparency and builds credibility

Simply put, a blog is a conversation. In the arsenal of marketing tools, it’s the most cost effective and it’s among the few that allows for an exchange of ideas. In the world of automobile manufacturers, the notion that a car maker would actually be interested in hearing what car buys think was then, and largely to this day remains, an anomaly. Consider the tenor of current automotive bailout proposals and how differently these may be perceived if automotive manufacturers made an effort to encourage and support dialog about what consumers would like to see in future models and how they would like to see bailout money used for the domestic manufacturers to remain competitive.

Of course, for blogging to ring true, it needs to be more than an exercise kept up for the sake of appearance. At Tesla, we began with my blog, which provided direct access to the company’s co-founder and CEO. From there, we expanded into a multi-channel approach until we had separate blogs for marketing/sales, engineering, and notable thought leaders/customers. So whether people had questions about the design of a component, the marketing of the Roadster, or what motivated folks to submit deposits, they could expect a straight answer right from the horse’s mouth.

Earning trust and respect is a big deal for start-ups, but established companies have just as much to gain from doing the simplest thing in the world: engaging their customers in a conversation.

Bloggers need a voice

Before I got to Tesla, I learned an important message. At NuvoMedia, I realized that it was far better to present myself, the CEO and spokesperson of the company, as human: speaking with my own voice, occasionally ruffling feathers, and occasionally apologizing for sticking my foot in my mouth. In contrast, the CEO of my competitor always employed his marketing department to finely craft his public remarks, which were smooth but bland. They lacked conviction.

This became obvious when we were both invited to participate in a live Web meeting, where eBook fans could ask us written questions and we would answer in writing online. I would bet good money that his marketing team was right there with him, and they collectively crafted his fine, bland answers. I wouldn’t let my marketing people in the room while I was doing this event. Sometimes I could hear them screaming outside my door at whatever I had just written; sometimes they applauded. But my responses were pure Martin, and the readers knew it. And this definitely resonated with the participants, who overwhelmingly scored my performance as the best.

I think people confuse the importance of the two root words in “spokesperson.” I think the most important aspect is to be an actual person. This lesson was very much in mind as I began speaking as the voice of Tesla Motors.

Blogging is the ultimate real-time focus group

The notion of “crowd sourcing” is really just a fancy Web 2.0 word for reaching out to the online community with a simple question and getting feedback. While identifying “target consumers” as part of market research has been a mainstay of product development for eons, focus groups only work so far as the members are really assembled and handled in a way that allows them to remain representative stand-ins for a broader community of folks on the outside. With crowd sourcing, there is an opportunity to have a direct feedback loop with select members of the community. For example, if I wanted to know how to best serve prospective customers in getting charging stations installed at their homes, I would also need to know how much electrical capacity their homes have. I found that the best and quickest way to get an answer is simply to ask them.

This approach provides real world results, and it sets up a dynamic where customers feel like their input matters (and in this case, it most definitely did).

Blogging supports team building

After years of toiling in relative secrecy/obscurity on a project we collectively knew would turn the automotive world on its head, there was no bigger sense of wonder and encouragement than the feedback we received once the project was unveiled. Part of sharing in that experience was giving team leaders and company supporters a voice by actively encouraging them to blog about what they were up to and what they’d learned along the way. Based on experience, this principle applies at most companies. When members of the development team get recognition for their hard work and insights, and occasionally challenged on these very same areas, it fosters a sense of commitment and common purpose that no amount of traditional advertising or PR could ever hope to accomplish.

Blogging is the single most efficient tool for reaching mainstream media

While we disseminated and tracked traditional press releases at Tesla alongside our online activity, we made a point of reaching out to our customers first-ahead of the press-in a private forum whenever we had new exciting news to share about the company or car. In many cases, we had relationships with key bloggers that were the next in line for key pieces of info after customer had received it. With customers and the blogosphere pretty well covered, the significance of traditional press releases was greatly diminished. Interestingly, as measured both by volume and coverage, more of the mainstream press pieces that covered Tesla Motors and the Tesla Roadster originated from information first announced among customers and on forums/blogs than we ever saw as the result of press releases. The benefit to us was that we could get more info out quicker, and we generally received more meaningful press coverage than a traditional wire release could ever provide. A big part of this was that since blogs and forums are inherently egalitarian (and, in large part, anonymous), the press could grab content from us any time they pleased; in fact, there was an urgency to break stories quickly and to provide substantive coverage because once a story broke on the Web, it was out there for all to see. If something wasn’t clear or required further clarification, the press, like anyone else, could ask questions and expect immediate feedback.

A big part of what set Tesla apart from traditional auto manufacturers was as much about our approach to interacting with the car buying public as it was the car itself. For companies looking to forge a stronger, more meaningful relationship with their constituents and spend their marketing effort where it counts, a commitment to blogging and other forms of online dialog is an investment that is hard to match.

Martin Eberhard is the former CEO and founder (along with Marc Tarpenning) of Tesla Motors, the manufacturer of the revolutionary 100% electric Tesla Roadster and forthcoming Type S sedan. Eberhard previously founded NuvoMedia and invented the Rocket eBook, a handheld electronic book and a secure Web-based distribution system that allowed readers to purchase and download books from online bookstores for the first time ever.  Eberhard also founded Network Computing Devices, where he served as chief engineer.