Tesla Motors Hires Google Strategist to be Vice President of Communications
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SAN CARLOS, Calif. August 31, 2009; Google executive Ricardo Reyes will join Tesla Motors as vice president for communications, starting in mid-September.
Reyes, 35, is head of global communications and public affairs at YouTube, one of the premier destinations online and a subsidiary of Google. He previously handled litigation, competition and policy communications for the online search, services and products company.
Before that, Ricardo spent a decade working on public policy and communications in Washington, D.C., including two years at law firm Bracewell and Giuliani LLC, where he led crisis consulting and communications management services. Among the corporate and political clients he advised, Reyes worked with automotive suppliers as they faced major changes to their business structure.
Reyes has served as Deputy Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Public and Media Affairs. From 2001 to 2004, he was a spokesman for international trade policy and an adviser to U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick.
“Ricardo has deep expertise in both the public and private sectors in managing complex communication issues. He has a well earned reputation for being forthright, possessing a nuanced understanding of the facts and adapting quickly to a rapidly changing landscape, making Ricardo the perfect person for a fast-paced, high-profile company like ours,” said Tesla CEO Elon Musk. “This is further evidence that Tesla is aggressively recruiting from both Silicon Valley and the traditional automotive industry to build the best possible team.”
Tesla announced a significant financial milestone in July, when it achieved overall corporate profitability and shipped a record 109 vehicles to customers. The company – which remains the only automaker producing and selling highway capable electric vehicles – has enjoyed a surge in new Roadster purchases this summer. The Department of Energy recently announced that Tesla will receive a $465 million loan for Model S and powertrain production. Initial fund disbursements from the loan are expected to begin in the fall.
Reyes will start Sept. 14 and immediately travel to Frankfurt, Germany for the 63rd International Motor Show, one of the auto industry’s premier events. Tesla executives will be available throughout the media preview, Sept. 15-16, and they will be keynoting a leading industry conference on Sept. 18.
“Despite its small size, Tesla has become a significant player in the automotive industry and has already served as a powerful catalyst for other automakers to develop green vehicles,” Reyes said. “The opportunity to join Tesla and help make a difference to the world is the only thing that could have enticed me to leave Google.”
In 1996, Reyes worked as an observer for national elections in his birth country, Nicaragua. As a kid, Ricardo spent his summers pumping gas, checking fluid levels, and changing oil filters at gas stations run by his dad. Reyes is a graduate of Rice University in Houston, Texas.
About Tesla
Tesla sells cars online and operates showrooms in New York, Seattle, London, West Los Angeles and California’s Silicon Valley. Tesla will open stores in Chicago and Munich in the upcoming weeks, and it also plans stores in South Florida, Washington, D.C., Toronto and Monaco this year.
Tesla Motors is the only automaker worldwide that is manufacturing and selling highway-capable electric vehicles. Tesla, which achieved overall corporate profitability last month, has delivered about 700 Roadsters to customers so far. The company's goal is to produce increasingly affordable cars to mainstream buyers – relentlessly driving down the cost of EV technology. Tesla also sells patented power train components to other automakers, including the battery pack and charger for the electric Smart, built by German luxury carmaker Daimler.
The Roadster beats nearly every other car for acceleration yet is twice as energy efficient as a Toyota Prius. With an EPA-estimated range of nearly 250 miles per charge, it costs less than $5 to refuel and is faster than street-legal Porsches and Ferraris.
Teslas consume no gasoline whatsoever, never need routine oil changes and require far less maintenance than internal combustion engine vehicles or complicated hybrids. They qualify for numerous incentives, including a $7,500 federal tax credit nationwide, and sales tax waivers in several states, leading to a dramatically lower total cost of ownership than conventional sports cars.