In a surprising turn of events, Tesla’s advertising expenditures on the social media platform X have plummeted dramatically. Recent regulatory filings reveal that the electric vehicle manufacturer allocated $400,000 for advertising on Elon Musk’s platform in 2024. However, projections indicate that this figure will shrink to a mere fraction in 2025, as the company faces challenges in sales performance.
During the initial two months of 2025, Tesla’s ad spending on X amounted to only $10,000, suggesting an annual budget of just $60,000 unless there is a significant increase in advertising efforts for the remainder of the year. In stark contrast, the company had already spent $200,000 on X ads during the same period in the previous year. Following those early months, Tesla’s advertising budget saw a considerable slowdown, with an additional $200,000 spent throughout the rest of 2024.
Historically, Tesla refrained from traditional advertising. It wasn’t until 2023, under pressure from shareholders, that CEO Elon Musk decided to explore advertising avenues. Consequently, ads for Tesla vehicles began appearing in Google search results and on platforms like YouTube in late 2023 and early 2024, including X.
While it remains uncertain whether Tesla’s spending on X has increased since February, Google’s Ads Transparency database indicates that the company still maintains approximately 700 active advertisements across various Google platforms, including Search and YouTube. Despite inquiries, Tesla has not provided any comments regarding its advertising strategy.
In other developments within Musk’s enterprises, Tesla disclosed payments of around $800,000 to SpaceX for the use of one of its private jets. This arrangement is frequently utilized by Musk for travel between the headquarters of his various companies. However, even this expense appears to be on a downward trend, with Tesla only paying SpaceX about $40,000 for jet usage through February 2025.
Ensuring Musk’s safety during his travels incurs significant costs as well. The recent proxy filing revealed that Tesla paid a security firm owned by Musk $2.8 million in 2024, an increase from the $2.4 million spent in 2023. This security firm has already earned $500,000 from Tesla through February 2025, although the automaker notes that this amount only represents a portion of the total security expenses related to Musk.
Among the most substantial transactions between Musk’s companies last year was a payment of $198.3 million from xAI to Tesla, primarily for the Megapack battery storage products. These products are being utilized at xAI’s data center in Tennessee. Additionally, xAI has paid Tesla another $36.8 million for Megapack products in the first two months of this year.
In a related note, Tesla’s success has also benefited Kimbal Musk, Elon Musk’s brother. As a board member, Kimbal’s drone company, Nova Sky Stories, received $300,000 from Tesla for a performance at the automaker’s “We, Robot” event held in October 2024.