Tesla plans to close the forum section on its website as it launches a new social platform called the Tesla Engagement Platform, which has sparked a community of enthusiastic supporters. Tesla announced the first new engagement platform with a notice at the top of its forum pages: which reads: “From March 15, Tesla forums will be read-only. Visit eng.tesla.com to continue the conversation with the Tesla community visit “Verge reported the first changes.
Instead of creating posts and threads, the new site comments on Tesla’s public-policy-related posts and campaigns claiming to support the agency’s disaster relief efforts in Texas, and invites fans of the brand’s brand and urges Nebraskans to pass a bill to their state legislators. Ask for encouragement for passes that allow the sale of Tesla directly to certain districts. In response to a March 2 Tesla forum post announcing a 13-day countdown to the platform’s death, one commenter complained of “insider information” that the forums were being shut down because Tesla could not afford to have multiple full-time moderators. The trolls are now likely to move to twitter, as the Tesla engagement platform will curtailed.
The forums, which are now only available as read-only archives, were a place for Tesla fans, investors and verified owners to ask and answer each other’s questions. However, the unlimited nature of the forum created an environment where its most active posters occasionally attacked people to raise concerns. The new microsite, which helps local owners apply for membership in clubs, promises a direct feedback loop with the company’s policy team and encourages visitors to get involved in Tesla advocacy. The first post on the new microsite reads, “Engage Tesla is a new platform for both the Tesla public policy team and the Tesla owner’s club.” “The goal is to create a digital home base for all of our work, and to make it easier for members of the Tesla community to learn what is best for us, to take meaningful steps, and to stay in the loop. We hope you enjoy the extension.”
A quick skim through the comments section of the first post reveals a BV to dissatisfy users who want to have forums in new forums, or at least recreate something similar – and restrained – on new sites. There is no shortage of forums related Tesla and other EVs on the Internet. After hailed by owners and potential buyers as a place to share honest information about the good and bad parts of the company’s products, it has hailed as a base of toxicity. “Please don’t get rid of the forums,” one commenter requested. “This is not a replacement. Forums (excluding trolls on it) bring in informative discussions to help co-owners with issues.”
In fact, the new platform will not appear as a replacement. It looks like a blog that shares industry news, Tesla events and promotions, in an effort to bring together the work that supporters are already doing in one place and to encourage more lawyers on behalf of the organization. For example, the Tesla Owners Club in Silicon Valley has already raised $10,000 to help the Texas community’s Dale Valley, which surrounds the area where the company’s new plant built.
Not everyone is critical. Many of the initial comments on the platform’s first post called for a restrained forum, with some suggesting improvements to the company’s customer service department and others asking for advice on how the organization can advocate for public charge infrastructure. We will see how interesting it really is for Tesla fans.
