Tesla chief executive Elon Musk this week revealed that the company plans to build a further three new models, in addition to the upcoming Model S, this year. CARmag.co.za content partner MeetTheBoss.tv sat down with Tesla’s sales vice president, Cristiano Carlutti, to talk about the reality of selling the electric dream.
At the heart of Tesla Motors is the belief that driving an electric car need not come at the expense of style, comfort or performance. “We want to bring the electric vehicles to a larger audience,” explains Carlutti in this exclusive interview. “We want to make it for affordable and I believe that this is our responsibility because the revolution has just started and it is our responsibility to bring it forward.”
To say Tesla, and Carlutti specifically, are on a mission to change people’s misconception about the electric car is something of an understatement. “What we promise is consistency with what we have,” says Carlutti. “It’s efficient, it’s effective, it gives great performance, and it’s reliable.”
The car revolution
Tesla’s outlook for the future of the car industry is centered on the very definition of the word “automobile”.
The word, which originated as a literal way to define a vehicle capable of moving under its own power – as opposed to, say, a horse and cart or a locomotive – today is used to illustrate a vehicle that often encompasses an internal combustion engine: something of a problem if you’re trying to market an automobile that runs on electricity.
Not for Tesla though, who say they’re still making automobiles but are simply looking to “change this definition one car at a time.” (Or – perhaps as Musk demonstrated this week – three cars at a time).
“The key factor here is to let the customer drive the car. It’s about the experience rather than the glamour or the image or any other thing you may communicate through the media,” explains Carlutti. “These things allow us to reach a much wider audience, but the real difference is made when a person drives the car: the physical experience. And therefore we try to organize all our marketing activities and communication around this, around making happen a customer experience [that is unmatched] elsewhere.”
Greenfingers
It seems that customers want to be a part of this automotive revolution as well, what with a focus from communities and manufacturers to redefine green initiatives and reconnect with our environments having become paramount to success. And, as the need for alternative and renewable sources of energy, the impact of our carbon footprints and the effect of greenhouse gases become an increasing presence in our lives, consumers are looking more seriously at the dynamism of environmentally friendly processes and products, which ultimately spells good news for the likes of Tesla.
“We have a real product, and right now we are the only company who really has a product like this, and this allows us to let a customer, a journalist, whoever, to drive the car. And once they drive the car, we find we don’t need to explain anything, because the experience is all there, and it’s overwhelming when they get out of the car and look at it and say, ‘I just didn’t think this was possible’.”
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