In an extraordinary and almost incredible campaign, Elon Musk has again proven that he is not only an ingenious entrepreneur, but also a person with a sense of humor and depth. The Tesla CEO made headlines worldwide when it became known that it disguised himself as a homeless man to buy a Tesla in one of the showrooms of his own company. The reactions of the employees when they recognized his true identity ensured emotional moments – not only on site, but also on social networks.
Musk wore worn out clothes, an old hat and an unkempt beard. He entered the Tesla store like an ordinary customer who wanted to protect himself from wind and weather for a short moment. At first, the employees reacted somewhat distant, but nevertheless offered him politely help. Musk asked simple questions about the models, asked for information on charging electric cars and showed interest in a used model 3.
What nobody knew: Musk wanted to test the customer friendliness and the behavior of his employees under realistic conditions with this unusual action. He also wanted to see whether his company really lives his values of inclusion, respect and humanity – regardless of the external appearance of a customer.
When Musk finally revealed his true identity, there was complete speechlessness for a moment. Some employees started laughing, others were moved to tears. An employee later said: “I could hardly believe it. I thought I would be kidding. And then he just hugged us – it was surreal.”
Musk praised the team for their professional behavior and promised everyone involved a bonus in recognition of their respectful and helpful attitude. In addition, he announced an internal campaign that aims to promote human values in customer contact even more.
The campaign was celebrated on social media. Many users commented that they see Musk in a new light through this action. Not only as an entrepreneur with a vision, but also as a person who knows how it is to put yourself in others.
This story again shows that life, title or status is not always important in life. Sometimes a small gesture – or a big test – is enough to prove how important humanity is in an increasingly digital world. With his experiment, Elon Musk has not only reached his employees, but also the hearts of many people.
