07/11/2025
Remember when LinkedIn declared traditional advertising dead?
(spoiler alert, it has not aged well)
Their proof at the time was Elon Musk and Tesla’s non-traditional rise to success.
(told you)
Tesla had just received a $1 Trillion+ valuation built on vibes and the cult of personality of Elon Musk and virtually $0 in ad spend.
They didn’t pour money into Super Bowl spots or plaster billboards across America. They let one man’s Twitter feed do the heavy lifting—and it worked.
A strong personal brand can be a serious growth engine.
And it was for Tesla.
Which brings us to the Tesla valuation situation of today …
What happens when that personal brand turns polarizing? Unfiltered? Politically charged?
You get chaos. A stock price that moves like a meme coin.
Customers, investors and employees questioning what the brand even is anymore.
You kill your brand equity.
And brand equity is everything.
It’s what makes people trust you. Pick you. Pay a premium for you.
Even if Tesla’s stock stabilizes … the longterm brand value is much harder to recover than mere revenue numbers. (Yes, that was directed at you, Peloton.)
Even if someone else takes over, think of the time, effort and money required to carve a fresh narrative from a company built entirely on one (possibly toxic) persona.
Meanwhile, you’ve flung the gates wide open for competitors to catch up.
This isn’t just about Elon. Or Tesla.
Or SBF. Or Elizabeth Holmes.
Or Adam Neumann. Or Travis Kalanick. Or Jack Welch.
Or Jeff Bezos. (who actually is a whole other story and another post for another day)
Each built something massive on the back of their personal brand.
And when that brand cracked—the business felt it.
✅ Personal brand can be your biggest asset.
❌ But if it’s your only lever? You’re massively exposed.
❌ If there’s no long-term strategy or guardrails on your personal brand? You’re quite literally winging it.
You need a brand that can withstand—even when the founder steps out of the spotlight.
So yes. Lean into personal brand (I know I am).
AND build something bigger around it.
👉 What’s one brand you’ve seen go all-in on personality and do it right?