In a bold (and let's be honest, hilarious) marketing move, Kia Norge took a not-so-subtle jab at Musk.
As we all know, Tesla CEO Elon Musk loves being the center of attention. But in Norway - one of Tesla's earliest and most important markets - Kia just stole the spotlight. No, not by building a new EV, but by directly trolling Musk in an ad capitalising on the outrage that he's caused amongst so many Europeans because of his political antics.
Kia Norge, in a now-deleted post on Instagram, promoted its affordable 300-mile EV3 with a clever bumper sticker on the back that reads: "I bought this after Elon went crazy," a take on the recently popularized "I bought this before Elon went crazy" stickers that were all the rage with a swathe of disgruntled Tesla owners after the U.S. presidential election.
Predictably, Tesla loyalists weren't particularly happy with Kia's joke and it was called out by one of Tesla's unofficial spokespeople, Sawyer Merritt, on Musk's social media platform, X, before being deleted. Kia HQ says it was an unsanctioned local initiative.
Disillusioned Tesla owners are finding novel ways to divorce themselves from the brand and are becoming inventive in finding humorous ways to distance themselves from Tesla. Such as removing their Tesla emblems and swapping them for badges from other automakers - like this one that is now adorned with full Audi A5 badging.
Musk's influence over Tesla is both the automaker's biggest strength and biggest liability. While die-hard fans remain loyal, Musk's increasingly controversial behaviour is on the global stage and, as all news outlets are reporting, Tesla's sales are suddenly tanking. Almost certainly because of his shenanigans.
Kia knows this. So do other automakers. Several are playing to this and targeting EV buyers ready to leave Tesla behind for another brand. Tesla was once untouchable - the John Gotti of EVs. As the saying goes, “It takes years, sometimes decades to build up a brand’s reputation, and just seconds to destroy it.”