Strategy July 31, 2018
Tesla Immediately Sells Out of $1,500 Branded Surfboards
The logoed lifestyle product was the result of collaboration between Tesla’s design studio and Lost Surfboards.
Tesla branded surfboard, we hardly knew you.
Within hours of going on sale late last week, a limited edition collection of 200 or so custom surfboards from Tesla sold out.
The logoed lifestyle product was the result of collaboration between Tesla’s design studio and Lost Surfboards. Like the $400 leather jackets made from the same automotive grade leather found in Tesla interiors, the surfboards took inspiration from the line of luxury electric automobiles. A product description said the boards feature a “mix of the same high-quality matte and gloss finish” used on Tesla vehicles. Plus, carbon fiber inspired by Tesla interiors reinforces the surfboards.
Obviously, some in the commerce-sphere approved of the boards.
In other news, Tesla dropped some new merch... It's a limited edition surfboard. No, I don't surf. But it's red and matte black. So I snagged one ¯\_(ツ)_/¯https://t.co/2v2G7bnALC pic.twitter.com/aWuMYHK3JC
— Marques Brownlee (@MKBHD) July 29, 2018
Bruh I really bought a Tesla surfboard last night.
— 👨🚀 Astrosurfer Sieu 🏄♂️ (@kingsieu) July 29, 2018
Others were critical of the surfboard and its high price tag.
Tesla’s $1,500 carbon fiber surfboard is dumb https://t.co/t817AUBmRP pic.twitter.com/TqmTXHnGJb
— Gary Bartanus (@garybartanus) July 31, 2018
Nonetheless, selling 200 logoed surfboards at $1,500 a pop equates to $300,000 in gross revenue. It also earned Tesla headlines across the old interwebs – welcomed free publicity. Of course, Tesla releasing limited edition, seemingly off-the-wall merchandise isn’t too big a stretch. After all, founder Elon Musk is a branded merchandise maverick-genius, having pedaled everything from “Boring” hats and branded flamethrowers to kits of interlocking life-size LEGO-style bricks.
Bummed you missed out on the board? Well, you might still have a chance to nab one – provided you have a lot of disposable cash. As of this writing, boards were available on eBay for between $3,000 and $4,000.