Elon Musk 'Implementing' Tesla Recommendations From Newspaper Ad

Elon Musk is exploring commercial space travel as CEO of the privately held SpaceX and leading the charge for electric cars as chairman and CEO of Tesla Motors Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA), but apparently he still has time to respond to a newspaper advertisement calling on him to improve on the Tesla Model S.

In a marketing move out of Don Draper’s playbook as recounted by Wikia, two “very highly satisfied” Tesla Model S owners from Southold, N.Y., took out a full-page ad in California’s Palo Alto Weekly newspaper requesting that Musk make a variety of small changes in the next Tesla model. The ad doesn’t disclose the identity of the Tesla owners who placed it, pegging them only as a husband and wife on Long Island, although more than a few Twitter users have speculated that Tesla’s marketing department is behind the gesture.

Describing Musk as an “automotive visionary,” the ad thanked Tesla for introducing “fun, comfort and advanced reliability into a phenomenal driving experience.” Recommendations include automating the power-charging cap to close after the power cord is removed, bringing the cup holder forward, and installing a voice-activated dialing option that would make it possible for drivers to simply speak the numbers for any phone they wish to dial.

“People are fascinated by my Tesla, and my wife’s Tesla,” the ad reads in part. “Promotion of your cars to the general public could only have a positive effect, creating many additional enthusiastic Tesla owners.”

That request has already been satisfied, with Musk tweeting an image of the advertisement, earning thousands of favorites and retweets within hours.

The advertising stunt came only days after Musk posted a video of himself participating in the ALS ice bucket challenge. That video, which also went viral, featured Musk surrounded by his sons, who each pulled a string that dumped the freezing bucket onto their dad.