Tesla, the maker of green automobiles, is trying to get its branded merchandise to more consumers, reportedly by launching a store on Amazon.
According to a report, Tesla, which sells an array of branded items including water bottles, hats, jackets, chargers and even a surfboard through its own website, took a step to expand its potential reach with the Amazon eCommerce store. The outlet was alerted to the Amazon store by a tipster. While it does house a lot of Tesla-branded items, it's not as robust as the store on its own website.
The report noted that news of the Tesla store on Amazon reportedly prompted the company to take it down. While there are some products listed, visitors will quickly find that the items are unavailable. It's not clear when the items will be in stock or why they aren't currently available. The publication speculated that perhaps consumers are quickly buying all of the Tesla-branded products. When the store listed a Tesla-branded surfboard for $1,500, it sold in one day.
The mystery surrounding the Tesla-branded shop on Amazon comes as the company is in restructuring mode. In January, Tesla disclosed it would be reducing its workforce by 7 percent. In a conference call covered by CNBC at the time, CEO Elon Musk said he was focused on lowering costs at the company.
“Getting those costs down, variable costs and fixed costs, is what allows us to lower the price and be financially sustainable and achieve our mission of environmental sustainability. So, we have to be absolute zealots about this. There’s no question,” Musk said on a conference call covered by CNBC. He said there is a "significant" risk of a recession in the next 12 to 18 months. Still, he is confident that Tesla will remain "slightly profitable," even if there is a recession.
