By Steven Symes 
After an attack at Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas involved a Tesla Cybertruck, public relations experts are praising Elon Musk’s response to the rapidly evolving situation. Even before many facts were known, Musk was using X to talk about the explosion in the all-electric pickup, helping to combat speculation that the vehicle was defective and blew up on its own.
Fiery Hellcat crash ends poorly for the driver.
Speaking with Fortune recently, these PR experts said Musk did the right thing by immediately getting out in front of the story instead of waiting for all the facts to come in. We still don’t know everything about the attack, but Musk was able to combat attacks on Tesla’s reputation early.
As one of those experts told Fortune, staying quiet about a rapidly evolving story like the attack in Las Vegas means “they (the public) are coming to their own conclusion.”
Instead of letting speculation that the Cybertruck’s battery malfunctioned and exploded take hold, Musk got the message out on X that the stainless steel body panels on the truck helped contain the blast, preventing mass casualties. He even pointed out the hotel’s glass doors weren’t broken.
That helped shift the story from speculation about a defect to focusing on some sort of improvised bomb put in the payload. It also shined a light on the engineering behind the Cybertruck, almost acting like an advertisement.
We don’t know if anyone bought a Cybertruck after seeing how well the one took that blast, but we did see accounts on X advocating it. Musk was able to take what could’ve been a black eye for the Tesla brand and spun it into a shining endorsement. Whether you love or hate Musk, Tesla, and the Cybertruck, you have to admit that’s impressive.
And as information from the investigation began leaking out, Musk took to X to provide updates, defeating efforts to claim the Cybertruck is an unsafe, unstable vehicle. Plus, he quickly provided information from the vehicle and footage of it charging at a Supercharger, earning him praise from investigators as they work to make sense of the attack.
At this point we have little doubt other automotive executives are taking notes, especially those moving ahead with electrification or alternative fuels.
Images via Elon Musk/X