Tesla Sent a Car to Space
In Feb 2018, SpaceX strapped Elon Musk's cherry-red Roadster to Falcon Heavy and launched it into a solar orbit with a mannequin named Starman at the wheel. It was a rocket test, a Tesla ad, and a piece of internet mythology all at once — and the car is still out there, drifting around the Sun.
The story
On February 6, 2018, SpaceX needed a dummy payload to test the brand-new Falcon Heavy. Most rocket companies bolt on a block of concrete. Elon Musk bolted on his personal cherry-red Tesla Roadster, dressed a mannequin in a SpaceX spacesuit, named him Starman, mounted three cameras, and pointed the whole thing toward Mars while "Space Oddity" played on loop. The livestream was watched by 2.3 million people concurrently — the second-biggest live audience in YouTube history at the time. Every news outlet on earth ran the photo of Starman with Earth in the background, and Tesla — a brand that has famously never paid for advertising — got the most expensive-looking ad ever made for the price of a car they already owned. The Roadster is still orbiting the Sun; you can track it on whereisroadster.com.
Why it worked
Two products got launched at once: the rocket and the car. The image was free, undeniable, and impossible for any rival to copy.
Takeaway for marketers
The best ads aren't bought, they're staged. If your launch event IS the product demo, you don't need a media plan.