Tesla is hiring a celebrity ambassador despite Elon Musk saying he doesn’t pay for endorsements

Tesla has hired a celebrity ambassador, a departure from Elon Musk’s policy of not paying for celebrity endorsements.

Musk has often boasted that Tesla does not pay for celebrity endorsements, unlike other automakers that hire celebrity ambassadors to promote their cars.

Like advertising, Musk appears to be abandoning this strategy.

Tesla announced that it has hired Olympic shooter Kim Ye-ji, whose performance at the Paris Olympics this summer went viral, to be the automaker’s brand ambassador in Korea.

Kim said of her new partnership with Tesla:

I am very pleased to work with Tesla, who recognized me. I hope to send a positive message together with Tesla.”

Here are some images released to announce their new partnership with Tesla:

Kim’s agency said her relationship with Tesla began when CEO Elon Musk tweeted about her viral performance at the Olympics:

“The relationship between Kim Ye-ji and Tesla developed after Elon Musk mentioned it. The company said Kim is the first brand ambassador for Tesla Korea.”

She is not only the first ambassador for Tesla Korea, but she is also the first known paid celebrity ambassador for Tesla globally.

The change in policy isn’t entirely surprising, as Musk’s policy of not paying celebrities to endorse Tesla products has often been attached to the automaker’s no-advertisement strategy.

Musk went as far as at syes he “hates advertising” and Tesla started advertising last year.

The shift in strategy, coincidentally or not, came after Musk bought Twitter, a company that relies on advertising and Tesla even started advertising on Twitter, now called X.

Tesla’s sales in Korea haven’t been amazing, but the country’s auto market heavily favors domestic brands. The American automaker is doing pretty well for a foreign brand, with the Model Y becoming Korea’s best-selling imported vehicle in the first half of 2024.

Although, it amounted to just over 10,000 units.

Taking Electrek

It’s a change in strategy, and Elon certainly can’t pretend that Tesla doesn’t pay for celebrities to endorse its products, but it’s probably a smart move given that Koreans prefer domestic brands.

Kim might help create a deeper level of attachment to the Tesla brand, but I don’t really know. I’m just speculating.