Written by Cláudio Afonso | LinkedIn | X
Kia’s Norway unit said on Wednesday that the controversial social media post attacking Tesla CEO Elon Musk was intended as humor and not meant to offend, following backlash over the campaign which led the carmaker to delete the post on Monday.
The post featured a sticker on the rear of Kia’s EV3 model reading, “I bought this after Elon went crazy.” Shared earlier this month, the ad gained traction over the weekend, becoming the account’s top-voted Instagram post with over 1,000 likes and hundreds of comments.
Christian Lagaard, Head of Communications at Kia Norway, told local media outlet ITavisen that the post was “was only meant as humor between two competitors from our side.”
“The goal was to show there are other options for those looking for an electric car. The idea came from us here in Norway and was not initiated by Kia centrally.”
Musk reacted to the campaign on Monday, questioning the ad’s authenticity in a post on X, saying, “They really did that?”
Kia later deleted the post, with Lagaard saying the company understands that “humor resonates differently in different countries.” In a statement, the South Korean carmaker added that “it had no intention of offending or upsetting anyone.” Below is Kia’s full statement.
“We posted this a few weeks ago, picking up on an ongoing trend in social media. This was only meant as humor between two competitors from our side. The goal was to show that there are other options for those looking for an electric car. The idea came from us here in Norway and was not initiated by Kia centrally. We understand that humor resonates differently in different countries. We had no intention of offending or upsetting anyone. To avoid confusion or unnecessarily provoking anyone, we have chosen to take down the post,” Kia Norway’s Head of Communications stated.
Kia has previously targeted Tesla owners with incentive programs. Last September, the company offered U.S. Tesla drivers up to $1,500 to switch to a Kia EV. It also introduced a Tesla Competitive Bonus Program, providing a $1,000 discount on the EV6 and a $9,000 discount on the larger EV9, along with a $7,500 customer cash incentive.
Musk had also responded to that initiative, writing on X: “But here’s the rub, Tesla never has to bribe Kia drivers to buy a Tesla…”
The EV3, Kia’s latest electric model, was introduced in Europe last November with a range of up to 375 miles (603 km)per charge and a starting price of €36,000 ($39,000) in Germany.
While some social media users supported Kia’s campaign, top-liked comments on the post were critical of the South Korean automaker. One read, “Tell me you can’t compete on [the] product without telling me,” while another, with 72 likes, said, “Tesla all day long!”
