So the question is are you building your personal brand?
Stephan Le Roux (You need to hear the truth)
Serial Entrepreneur | Business Growth & Turnaround Specialist | I Diagnose Stagnation, Drive Scalable Growth, and Rejuvenate Brands with Hard Truths & Bold Strategies
In January 2023, Tesla did something unthinkable:
They slashed ALL prices by 20% & destroyed their profit margins overnight.
No one understood why they did it. But Elon saw something no one else did...
Here's the real explanation (& why it's his boldest move yet)
For years, Tesla had dominated the EV market with premium pricing.
Their strategy was simple: Position as a luxury brand, maintain high margins.
But on January 12, 2023, Musk made an unprecedented move that shocked the industry...
Tesla slashed prices across ALL models by 10-20%.
? The Model Y: Down $13,000.
? The Model 3: Down $7,000.
Wall Street was stunned. Billions in market value vanished overnight.
But that was just the beginning...
The ripple effects were immediate:
? Used Tesla prices plummeted
? Existing owners protested
? Competitors panicked
Ford had to cut Mach-E prices by $5,900 just to stay competitive. The entire EV market was in chaos. But why did Musk do it?
The answer lies in Tesla's unique business model:
Unlike traditional car makers who sell through dealerships...
Tesla sells direct-to-consumer. This means they can adjust prices instantly based on demand. But there was a bigger strategy at play...
Musk was playing 4D chess:
By slashing prices, he forced competitors into a price war they couldn't win.
But the results shocked everyone...
Tesla's Q3 2023 numbers tell the story:
? Operating margin crashed from 17.2% to 7.6%
? Operating income plunged 52% to $1.7B
? Stock price fell 40% since January
Wall Street was panicking. But the damage went deeper...
The used car market imploded: Some Tesla models lost 28.9% of their value in ONE year.
Even more shocking:
A 2020 Model 3 saw the same depreciation in 3 years as a 2022 Model 3 saw in 1 year. The entire industry was in chaos. But Musk had a secret weapon...
While competitors focused on car prices, Tesla was building their real profit engine:
Full Self-Driving (FSD) software.
At $12,000 per vehicle, it's nearly pure profit.
And that's just the beginning...
Musk's master plan:
1. Cut prices to gain market share
2. Get more Teslas on the road
3. Upsell high-margin software
4. Launch robotaxi network
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Traditional automakers can't compete with this model. They don't have the software expertise. Think about it:
Even with lower margins on cars, Tesla can make it up through:
? FSD subscriptions
? Over-the-air upgrades
? Future robotaxi revenue
It's the ultimate moat. The most amazing part about this all:
Despite this massive transformation...
Despite the price wars...
Despite the chaos...
They still spend $0 on advertising.
Meanwhile:
? Ford spends $2.2B on ads yearly
? GM spends $3.3B
? Toyota spends $4.1B
Yet...
Tesla sells more electric vehicles than all of them combined.
How? They cracked the modern marketing code:
Traditional advertising is dying:
? TV ads get skipped
? Billboards get ignored
? Digital ads get blocked
But Tesla?
They get millions in free publicity through:
? Musk's tweets
? Word-of-mouth
? Customer evangelism
All because they built in public. This is the future of business:
People don't trust corporate ads anymore. They trust authentic voices.
Instead of burning cash on ads, the best founders are building personal brands that:
? Create trust at scale
? Attract customers organically
? Generate opportunities on autopilot
Just like Elon did.
So the question is are you building your personal brand?
Borrowed from Ifeanyi Christopher. Just to show the importance of brand building!
I can be contacted on:
Stephan Le Roux
Mobile +27791900505
email: [email protected]
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