Can I talk shop? I know, I don’t want to either, but Elon Musk has gone off on one.
Tesla’s chief executive, who has had a mixed relationship with the media, tweeted recently that the “problem is journos are under constant pressure to get max clicks and earn advertising dollars or get fired.”
Which, by the way, we’re not. Certainly not here, anyway.
“Tricky situation,” he went on, in that not-very-nuanced, fewer than 281 characters way that’s so popular these days, “as Tesla doesn’t advertise, but fossil fuel companies and gas/diesel car companies are among world’s biggest advertisers.”
Tesla Roadster: Elon Musk confirms faster version is due
Right. Where to begin?
For a start, I’ve never, in 21 years in this business, been influenced or pressured to write or amend a story to keep advertisers happy. It’s important you know that.
Sometimes we write things here that upset people who make cars – or other things advertised in our magazine pages or on this website – and that’s fine by us. On occasion, they’ve objected to these things so much that they have left us for a while. Perhaps what we write makes life difficult for the sales team upstairs (hi, guys) and that’s fine too (sorry, guys).
But the point is, you see, it’s the only way we can work. By reporting to you. Yes, you, the reader. Hi. Mostly because we want to, which is why we’re not working in advertising where we’d get paid more, and secondly, because you’re not stupid, and if we didn’t you’d see through it.
And then you’d walk away, and then advertisers would definitely leave too, because if I know one thing about advertising, it’s that talking to nobody is not good practice. It is, literally, then, our business model to ignore what advertisers think.
Anyway, inevitably, in a world where we’re frequently reviewing one thing against another, we couldn’t please them all. I know. I’ve had the emails. Online? Yes, of course ‘clicks’ matter, but the chances are that what’s being advertised to you is not exactly a vehicle anyway. It’ll be that watch or bird box or Mariah Carey album you bought two months ago.
So not really a ‘tricky situation’ at all. And to avoid other tricky situations – such as, I don’t know, defaming an entire industry in unsubstantiated fashion – we get sent on legal courses where we’re advised to definitely avoid doing precisely that. Be right, be objective, be unbiased, they say. So we are.
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Not nodding in agreement
Musk implies that he gets bad press because he doesn't advertise whereas other car manufacturers do, so they are treated favorably. As others have pointed out, it's Google's (and others) knowledge of your browsing history that prompts ads on websites. I just jumped about this site and got ads for: a razor blade, Yahoo, satellite TV, Texas as a holiday destination, Van Heusen shirts, a drug and an advertising company, no cars, at which point I became bored with my survey. Teslas are generally reviewed favorably; it's in the financial press that Musk gets hammered and, in my opinion, not entirely without justification.
You could have fooled me...
You mention in the article subheader that you're not under pressure to generate ad revenue, and yet the website seems to dedicate more spaces to ads than it does content. I feel it really takes away from the website experience, and if you need that revenue to survive then fine, I understand - but it does undermine your opening statement.
Musk
While Autocar may be fair ,honest and unfettered by the click = $$$ so more clicks world, it does NOT mean the rest of the Journalism world, incluiding the Auto part, is not.
(Why I come here to read up on vehicles rather than other places)
Taking his broad brush as a personal attack on your profession may indicate a level of insecurity and doubt you could work on,rather than bang out a clicky article about how a Global influencer "dissed" you.
We have ennough percieved victems controlling the media at this point, do not throw in with them.