Tesla's Fan Commercial Contest Winner Is a Familiar Face
BYDavid Z. Morris
July 29, 2017, 3:22 PM UTC
Tesla CEO Elon Musk on Friday announced the winner of the company's Project Loveday competition, which invited Tesla fans to put together their own commercials for the carmaker. The top spot went to Marques Brownlee, whose energetic clip highlighted the Model S's mix of features from the practical to the, well, ludicrous.
If Brownlee's name sounds familiar, it's because he's already a top-tier technology observer, with over 4.7 million subscribers to his YouTube Channel, MKBHD. Brownlee started uploading tech commentary videos when he was still in high school, and his combination of youth, deep tech knowledge, and willingness to destroy phones has earned him broad admiration.
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One salty Twitter commenter questioned Tesla's choice to give the nod to an entrant who was already so prominent, but Musk said he'd reviewed the videos personally and that the choice was made entirely on merit.
Watched them personally to make sure & I agree with the outcome. Wouldn't have judged differently. Amazing videos all, but @MKBHD was best.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 29, 2017
The announcement was made simultaneously with Tesla's big launch event for the Model 3 sedan. Bria Loveday, the 10-year-old whose heartfelt letter to Musk inspired the contest, was on hand in Fremont.
Project Loveday is an extension of Tesla's longstanding preference for fan- and press-driven word of mouth over high-dollar paid advertising. While the mass-market Model 3 might seem to invite a more traditional public push, its backlog of nearly 400,000 preorders means that's at least a couple of years away.