When Tesla hosted its “Cyber Rodeo” event to commemorate the company’s new Austin headquarters, we reported that there were Tesla-branded branding irons available to attendees because, at this point, why not?
Elon Musk’s electric vehicle company has done just about everything else you could imagine on a branding front, why not get into literal branding? It’s at least a little bit safer than the Boring Company flamethrowers he made.
Who’s getting the new Tesla branding iron? 🙋🏻♂️⚡️🙋🏻♀️
I can see some tattooing this onto their skin, instead of on burgers. 🔥
Link: https://t.co/NP1lGG7qiR$TSLA pic.twitter.com/FilFOevM47
— Teslaconomics (@Teslaconomics) March 14, 2023
The branding irons were exclusive to the Austin event, but Tesla recently put them up on the company’s store. Since Tesla has such a loyal fanbase, and this was previously a one-off product, they already sold out.
It sold or $70, and was described as “ideal of stamping the signature T logo onto food items like burger patties or buns or natural materials like wood or leather goods,” meaning that you could turn anything into a Tesla product, even dinner.
“If you can grill it, you can brand it,” the warning label at the bottom says.
It’s kind of funny, actually. Tesla paints itself as so futuristic, and yet this product is caveman-simple. Make it hot, stick it onto wood or food. There’s nothing space-age about it.
If you’re a Tesla fan and upset you missed out on the branding iron, there are still T-shirts from the Cyber Rodeo on sale now.
It’s pretty simple, too. It’s a black T-shirt with a multicolor neon sign-style logo featuring an outline of Texas, the “Cyber Rodeo” motif and “Giga Texas,” which is the name of the new factory.
The back features a subtle Tesla logo near the neck.
I’m hesitant to call a branding iron promo “smart,” but purely from a logo visibility standpoint, it’s effective. It’s like a sticker, only way more dangerous.
I think the most generous word I can use here is that it’s certainly … effective.
