Tesla Enthusiasts Spend Millions On Brand Apparel

Image via Tesla Motors

Tesla Motors scored big in its first-quarter earnings report, seeing its stock rise almost 25 percent in 24 hours. But the auto-manufacturer—which just upped its annual sales projection from 20,000 to 21,000—isn’t just making money from car sales.

Our apparel sales are not bad,” said Tesla CEO Elon Musk on a press call after the company’s Thursday afternoon posting. In fact, he explained, Tesla makes millions of dollars from selling apparel and accessories “without trying hard.

Enthusiasm for the brand is growing, and if they can’t afford a Model S, supporters can illustrate their fervor for all-that-is Tesla through branded T-shirts, hats, jackets and even onesies sold at the company’s gear store. But electric-car fanatics can find more than clothing at the site. Brand enthusiasts can shop for water bottles, coffee mugs, lunchboxes and blankets bearing the Tesla logo. There’s a wallet imprinted with Tesla-Roadster tire tread and a license-plate holder boasting, “My next car will be electric,” bearing Tesla name.

According to a thread last year on the Tesla Motors Club forum for enthusiasts and owners, Tesla has at some points sold out of certain sizes in jackets, but most posters were very happy with their gear and enjoyed it’s ability to spark conversations about their favorite subject.

I bought a Tesla polo (black, microfiber—not cotton) in Fremont, and it’s my favorite shirt,” posted a Model-S owner from Miami. “Super-comfortable and lightweight. As a bonus, every once in awhile it gets me into an interesting conversation about Tesla.

Granted, most of the posters were Tesla owners and probably just liked more opportunities to brag about their über-trendiness. Take this post from a California Roadster owner; it’s either from someone incredibly self-absorbed or someone who is just so obsessed he’s completely oblivious to anything that isn’t Tesla:

I wear my grey jacket or grey hat pretty much everyday! Disc golfers in Humboldt are starting to know about Tesla (- if it wasn’t for me I’d give them another 10-15 yrs before hearing about the sedan)

It continues:

My black hat that came with the RC car was lost somewhere in the redwoods so someone else has it now (Lucky it was pretty new at the time I lost it) and I hope they find out about Tesla because of it maybe.

I just bought my wife one of the black jackets (Men’s) since she has some fitting issues with the women’s jackets which are not made for breasty women now she can represent too.

Either way, that’s some brand loyalty right there.

Interestingly enough, other apparel dealers are benefiting from the rage over Tesla gear. A simple Google search for “Tesla clothes” or “Tesla apparel” brings up pages of sites that sell items related to a different Tesla. Dealers selling apparel related to early electricity pioneer Nikola Tesla vastly outnumber sites specializing in Tesla Motors gear. The trend give sites such as ThinkGeek, Redbubble.com, Zazzle, and CafePress the opportunity to attract searchers who would otherwise never venture upon their pages. Once there, however, Tesla enthusiasts can peruse gear bearing all sorts of slogans and designs dedicated to the Serbian-American engineer who invented the concept of alternating-current electricity in 1885.