I've been covering the auto industry long enough to have war stories about dealing with Tesla's communications team, back when the automaker had one.
Sometimes, we'd have a great and open relationship with those folks, who worked very hard under a notoriously demanding boss. But on other occasions, our interactions could be explosive, which always felt like a sign of the heat they must've been dealing with from the guy up top.
That's because Tesla CEO Elon Musk has long had a contentious relationship with the media—even if the media is the furthest thing from a monolith. While he may call himself a "free speech absolutist," Musk seems to struggle with criticism and tough questions when they're directed his way. And by 2020, the Tesla public relations team was gone, replaced by Musk's own Twitter (later X) account. But there's another weapon in Tesla's arsenal as it fights for hearts and minds, and it's leaning on that now more than ever.
That kicks off this Monday edition of Critical Materials, our morning roundup of industry and technology news. In addition to examining Tesla's influencer strategy, we're also looking at how the Sony-Honda electric vehicle joint venture is burning cash, and where South Korea is taking its own autonomous taxi game. Let's dig in.
30%: Influencers, Not Media, Drive The Robotaxi Narrative
The reason I haven't sent an InsideEVs crew down to Austin to try the Robotaxi service yet is that I can't even guarantee we'll get a ride in one. That's because the service is invite-only for now, and those invited are big on social media and YouTube and largely considered Tesla-friendly.
That's no coincidence, The Verge reported this weekend. And some of the influencers who did experience the Robotaxi had their own takes on the media:
Journalists and tech bloggers who might have been more critical of the technology were not only excluded but also actively ridiculed and mocked by Tesla fans and some of their followers for attempting to ask basic questions about the service. In Austin and online, Tesla fans were taking a cue from Musk, who has spent years fomenting a culture of resentment toward critical media.
One of the more prominent influencers, who goes by Zack on X, claimed he was approached multiple times by a Reuters journalist, whom he promptly ignored. That post, which has over 2,000 likes, received supportive responses from other users — one wrote that the publication and other legacy media outlets “can go F themselves.” Another said they would unfollow any account that simply responded to members of the media.
“The best response would [be] to add a precondition and ask them to go on camera blanket apologising for all the lies and smears against Elon and Tesla first,” the account Tesla insights wrote. “That will shut them up, and make them think!”
The end result of that adversarial dynamic, experts tell The Verge, is a rollout that feels less like a transparent tech demo and more like a beta test — one amplified by livestreaming influencers who willingly promote Tesla’s marketing material.
These days, traditional media is stumbling across the board and people have more avenues than ever to amplify their own ideas and content. So it can be easy to fall into a trap of getting your "news" from Instagram and YouTube and TikTok.
This is less me seething that InsideEVs wasn't "invited" to do the test—I actually plan to get us down there and try it as soon as possible—but more to raise a point about how Tesla gets its message across the world and who you can really trust. Granted, Tesla has been doing this sort of thing for a while, like the We, Robot event last year that included insiders, investors and superfans.
Yet it's worth thinking about what rules those channels play by, if any. I can only speak for this outlet in particular. But when we get things wrong here, and we certainly do from time to time, we correct the record and own up to it. We contact everyone before stories about them run. We do not hold stock in companies we cover. And we aim to be transparent about everything we do. Are these pro-Tesla channels operating the same way? Almost certainly not.
This isn't to say that some influencers and YouTubers aren't calling it like it is, however. I have been surprised at how many influencers have pointed out the early issues with the Robotaxis, as well as praising the things these cars get right. But the point is that most in-car accounts of the Robotaxi's performance are coming from voices Tesla picked because they're considered friendly, and everyone who consumes that content should keep this in mind.
“They know what their job is and Tesla knows how to use them,” author and Tesla critic Ed Niedermeyer told The Verge. Don't expect Tesla to slow down on that front anytime soon.
60%: Sony-Honda Afeela Proves Making Cars Is Hard, And Expensive
It's been a minute since we've heard anything about Afeela, the Sony-Honda electric-vehicle joint venture supposedly taking a high-tech new sedan to market in 2026. In a perfect world, the Afeela 1 will show that Japan Inc. can catch up to China at making a software-powered, modern EV; in reality, its specs and price tag have us wondering if it can really find an audience or not.
But it's a new platform, a new software architecture and a new approach to even selling cars. No wonder that production is proving expensive already, as Bloomberg reports:
The joint electric car project by Sony Group Corp. and Honda Motor Co. saw its annual operating loss more than double to ¥52 billion ($362 million) as they work to begin selling their first car, the Afeela, this year.
Sony Honda Mobility Inc. disclosed the deficit in a report for the latest fiscal year through March, which was released on Monday. The prior annual loss was ¥20.5 billion.
The loss by the venture is relatively small given the size of the two companies, which jointly posted more than ¥2.6 trillion in operating profit during the latest year.
This is more "interesting" than "surprising," in my book. Of course this project is expensive and capital-intensive; plus, there's nothing to even sell yet. But this is a great example of just how costly it is to bring an all-new advanced EV to market, even from two of the world's largest companies.
90%: Seoul Gets Into The Robotaxi Game Too
Seoul is one of my favorite places to visit, in part because of the sheer number of EVs you see zooming around everywhere (largely Hyundai, Kia and Genesis models, for obvious reasons). Now, this high-tech country is getting into the autonomous taxi game in its own way. And the technology being used is all homegrown.
The fleet of EVs from KG Mobility, formerly SsangYong Motor, seem to be doing well enough so far, reports Nikkei Asia:
The SUV is part of a robotaxi business with a fleet capable of Level 3 autonomy launched by the Seoul metropolitan government. Designated operators ride along in the taxis, but they only grab the wheel in emergencies.
The government looks to host robotaxis capable of Level 4 autonomy by 2027. Level 4 requires human intervention only in certain areas and is a step away from full autonomy.
The taxis have completed 4,200 trips in the eight months since service started in September. No accidents have occurred, and the service area was expanded in June.
Autonomous buses are also being rolled out in the capital. In November, Seoul launched bus services in the early mornings and late at night. The initiative has been well received, with over 10,000 riders to date.
These are LIDAR- and camera-equipped units deployed in partnership with Kakao Mobility, which is a kind of Uber-like competitor in South Korea. Google's Waymo is also entering into a partnership with Hyundai and the latter's cars should eventually replace the aging Jaguar I-Pace fleet. I wouldn't be shocked to learn Waymo is heading to Seoul in the next few years as a result of that too.
100%: Would Tesla Benefit From More Transparency?
It would be nice to be able to call an engineer or executive at America's EV leader from time to time and say, "Hey, can you explain how this works?" But part of Tesla's media strategy—if you can call it that—is to be a total black box, where information trickles out on its own channels or through Musk's X account and not much else.
But Tesla has some work to do to rehabilitate its image after Musk's disastrous year in the political realm. Would some transparency help to do that, or is Tesla smart to go its own way in getting information out to the public? Let us know what you think in the comments.
Contact the author: patrick.george@insideevs.com
