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Tesla Motors chief executive officer Elon Musk is good at playing the public relations game. He has the ability to help Tesla make headlines when nothing even happens. Case in point, Musk recently told Automotive News that Tesla plans to announce the site of its new U.S. plant within the next several weeks. Now, we all know that announcing that you plan to disclose something is not news, but Musk creatively slid a few tidbits of info into the discussion to make it newsworthy so Tesla can grab a few headlines once again.
We already know that Tesla is searching for a production plant somewhere on the West Coast. This facility will be used to produce the Model S and the Roadster. Here’s what Musk had to add:
It hasn’t yet been finalized. We’ve almost fully negotiated the deal, but it has not been signed yet.
Not quite news, as you can see, but additional plans regarding hiring more employees is. Musk said that Tesla is adding 50 to 60 workers to the team each month. Most new employees are vehicle engineers and product specialists who will focus on the Model S. Many of the new employees have worked with companies like BMW, Land Rover and Toyota in the past. Musk added:
We’re really trying to put together a world-class manufacturing team. We’re trying to create a Spartan army of expertise.
Musk had one more bit of information to top off the discussion. He noted that Tesla has narrowed down its supplier search for the Model S. 80 percent of the parts for the vehicle will come from either one supplier, or maybe two. That’s almost like saying the company has chosen one location, or maybe two. Which is it? Grabbing headlines with virtually nothing, as only Tesla and Musk can do.
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[Source: Automotive News – sub. req.]