The advertisement that I have decided to analyze is from Tesla. Tesla is well known throughout the world now for selling their fully electric vehicles with the most infamous model called the “Cyber truck” being released in 2023. The company is owned by world renowned Canadian/South African Elon Musk. Musk is notoriously known to be the CEO of Tesla as well as being the man who bought one of the biggest social media platforms “X” formerly known as Twitter. This advertisement is still based and showcases an image of the Earth, a Tesla Model S, as well as a short description about the vehicle itself.
At the top left corner of the ad, we can see the logo of Tesla. The logo is in front of a red background. The colour red is a common colour used among many different big-name brands throughout the world. Red is known to entice people to buy a company’s product as it sends a message of urgency to the consumer. In the middle of the ad in the foreground, we can see a circular image like that of the Earth. On the left half of the “Earth” consumers can see a grey and gloomy scene. The color grey signifies the lifeless and lack of biodiversity in this ad. In the very center of this half, we can see the ground covered in an abundance of rubbish and litter. As you can imagine, this would be very damaging and detrimental to the soil and roots of many plants. On the bottom left of the circle, we can see a dead and decaying tree to prove this. The color black when it comes to life itself most of the time represents death and sadness. Two figures are pictured above the tree. You cannot make out their facial features or expressions, as they are wearing gas masks. One of the figures is wearing a suit and tie. This man is supposed to represent a businessman or perhaps a worker of higher status who probably works indoors like in an office. Next to him is another person dressed in a hazmat suit. This human represents a person of lower status in the workplace system and probably works in a factory that handles a variety of hazardous chemicals and pathogens. On the top right of the hazmat worker, we can see big factories. One of the factories has a smokestack on the roof of the building that is spewing out a ton of greenhouses gases and other deadly fumes that contribute to the pollution of the atmosphere. The sky on the left half of the globe is covered in clouds and smoke. We can also see birds flying. Viewers of this ad are meant to feel empathy for the birds as they are flying in a sky full of poisonous gases and emissions. Moving on to the right-hand side of the globe, consumers can see the total opposite of the left half. The ground in the center of the globe is covered in a lush green field of grass. To the right side of the healthy globe; trees are seen thriving and growing with dark green leaves that represent life and biodiversity. To the top right of the grass, windmills can be seen spinning their blades. The windmills are a great innovation by humans that is known to be a cleaner and sustainable way of generating electricity. To the right of the windmills, people can be seen riding bikes as another way of emission free transportation. The sky is bright blue with a few clouds speckled throughout here and there. The birds on this half of the globe seem to be flying in a flock and don’t appear to be distressed like the birds on the left half of the globe. On the bottom right half of the ad, a red Tesla Model S can be seen displayed as the product being advertised by the company which will be the focal point and main area of interest for consumers looking to buy a new car.
The main message that the advertisement is trying to convey, is that Tesla vehicles created through means with sustainable and non-polluting practices and materials. The Model S is purposely displayed on the right half of the advertisement because that is the side where the “greener” Earth is. I think the image is indeed effective at targeting new car buyers who are looking to purchase a fully electric, zero emission car. I believe the image does its job at convincing new car buyers to perhaps turn away from gas fueled cars and instead look to buy a fully electric vehicle from Tesla. The image has a significant effect on me, as I have always been an advocate for any way company that tries its best to reduce their spread of greenhouse gases and look towards a “greener” and sustainable Earth. Although the idea of Tesla being one hundred percent emission free sounds good, some evidence would prove otherwise.
Tesla has been a company that I have known for good while now ever since it released its first street legal electric car. As a child, I always loved the idea behind Tesla and always tried to convince my parents to buy one whenever we needed another family car. We never ended up getting one, not only because of the price but for other reasons regarding how the cars are made. “In 2021, Tesla released its impact report on greenhouse gas emissions. Based on the data provided, the company’s carbon footprint was 2.54 million tons of carbon dioxide. This may seem miniscule to that of other companies such as Ford which reported 337 million tons of emissions in 2022, however the Tesla Impact Report had its flaws. The report failed to consider the company’s emissions that were produced from its supply chain production” (Law 2023). The report simply doesn’t include the emissions that are produced from the Tesla factories and production line. The next year in 2022, “Tesla finally released data on its supply chain emissions for 2022, which is equivalent to roughly 30.7 million tons of carbon dioxide” (Calma 2023). This time this report included all the indirect emissions and is a huge leap from the previous year. These simple mistakes can make companies look shady to consumers and could negatively affect the business. The many rare metals that power these electric cars are also damaging to the environment especially in the mining process. “rare earths amounted to 0.2 percent of what gets pulled out of the ground. The rest – now contaminated with toxic metals – is dumped back into the environment” (Wade 2016). These toxic metals can end up running into bodies of water which can negatively impact surrounding wildlife. From not providing enough details on their reports as well as being wasteful with raw materials, these build up over time and damage the company’s image and brand. “40% of its purchases of raw materials being scrapped” (Osta 2024)
Even with all these negative claims of Tesla being harmful to the environment, they have yet to change their practices. With multi billionaire Musk being in the driver’s seat of the company, Tesla will always keep producing their electric vehicles as long as the demand is high for fully electric cars. The future of gas-powered cars is already dwindling as they will soon be off the market in a few years’ time as governments look to ban the use of them. It is now up to consumers to decide; will you still buy fully electric cars from Tesla?
Works Cited
Calma, Justine. “Tesla’s Carbon Footprint Is Finally Coming Into Focus, and It’s Bigger Than the Company Let on in the Past.” The Verge, April 26, 2023. https://www.theverge.com/2023/4/26/23697746/tesla-climate-pollution-carbon-footprint-supply-chain-report.
Law, Gw Environmental and Energy. “Tesla and Greenwashing.” The GW Point Source, December 7, 2023. https://blogs.gwu.edu/law-gwpointsource/2023/12/07/tesla-and-greenwashing/.
Osta, Peet. “Why Tesla Is Not as Sustainable as You May Like to Think.” iNSnet, September 12, 2024. https://www.insnet.org/why-tesla-is-not-as-sustainable-as-you-think/.
Wade, Lizzie. “Tesla’s Electric Cars Aren’t as Green as You Might Think.” WIRED, March 31, 2016. https://www.wired.com/2016/03/teslas-electric-cars-might-not-green-think/.
Provide Feedback