Other automakers have taken more direct shots at Musk. Swedish EV startup Polestar ran a Super Bowl ad called “No Compromises” that included the line, “no conquering Mars,” as part of a longer list of phrases that served as a pledge of tactics it would not undertake.
Other brands outside of automotive have used the billionaire space race as a foil. For instance, Austin, Texas-based Yeti deployed a billboard that stated “See Space. Save Billions” and included a mountain scene and a tent, according to a report from Insider. “With SpaceX and Tesla and everyone trying to get to Mars out of Texas it seems, we love the outdoors, and there’s a lot of space out there,” Paulie Dery, Yeti’s VP of marketing, told the publication.
Ford’s ad, which is narrated by Bryan Cranston, shows employees assembling its new F-150 Lightning EV at a Michigan assembly plant. On Derby Day, Ford will host a “Very Important Builders” section for employees at its Louisville plants that includes front-row seats on the first turn at Churchill Downs.
