General Motors envisions an all-electric future with itself in the lead, putting leading-edge upstarts like Tesla and other EV manufacturers in the rear view mirror. It’s a tough, if intriguing, future to see — GM’s sheer size could bring pricing parity that would benefit consumers greatly.
But how does GM begin to topple Tesla, which in the broad culture has become synonymous with electric vehicles?
One way is to follow the Tesla playbook, which starts with charismatic and controversial Tesla CEO Elon Musk. Whatever his engineering prowess, one thing Musk is indisputably good at is dominating the narrative. A paragon of the influencer economy, Musk is consistently able to place himself and his companies (Tesla, SpaceX — oh and did you hear? he bought Twitter) into the mainstream conversation. Musk’s brand is as big as it gets.
GM has taken note — and if the company doesn’t have a major influencer like Musk in its CEO role, it does have resources and dealmakers to tap where the influencers are. And where they are is on Netflix. Netflix is in people’s headspace (and bedrooms) in a way even Elon Musk might envy. So GM is entering into a partnership with Netflix to enlarge the profile of its EV options on the streamer.
Because simply put: seeing is believing.
And Netflix viewers are going to start seeing GM EVs a lot more often. Upcoming seasons of Love is Blind, Queer Eye and Unstable will show off the Chevrolet Bolt EUV, GMC HUMMER EV Pickup, and Cadillac LYRIQ as part of the partnership.
“Entertainment has a huge impact on culture,” said GM Global Chief Marketing Officer Deborah Wahl. “We want to make EVs famous on streaming, small and silver screens to build an EV culture through storytelling that incorporates the experiences of driving and owning an EV.”
You’ll know it’ll have been a success when Musk’s Teslas get replaced by Chevy Bolts on Netflix shows like Billions. So far the big difference is that Tesla doesn’t need to pay for placement: The car itself acts as part of the narrative — a symbol and signifier. But stay tuned. This EV battle is just getting charged up.
