Signals & Moves

Silence, Snoop Dogg and State Fairs.

Wednesday 9 September

Tesla Cybercab.

1
Move: Tesla launches the Cybercab.
Last Thursday, Tesla launched the Cybercab in Austin. The event was invite only to Robotaxi winners, fans and select influencers. There was no livestream, Musk wasn’t there and just 45 cars were registered. This was a very silent launch compared to the “We, Robot” reveal in 2024, when Musk was on stage and the event was livestreamed to a global audience.
Signal: Silence may be scarcity, but it can also be fear.
This could be a scarcity strategy: There is no explanation of who gets “in”, but everyone knows this is worth waiting for and wants to be on the list. But scarcity and fear look the same from the outside: silence. Are we watching a strategy, or seeing a gap between the promise and the product?
Why would a founder be absent from the launch of their own product?
Only he knows. Musk had set expectations in public, promising “a storm of Cybercabs”. I’ll let you decide whether 45 Cybercabs qualifies as a “storm”. His silence protects his promise; his presence would make him answer for it.

2
Move: Snoop Dogg’s ice cream brand ‘Dr. Bombay’ is hiring a global taster.
Dr. Bombay is looking for someone who can travel the world for three months, tasting ice cream and testing flavours ahead of the brand’s expansion. The job pays $10,000 a month and no experience is needed. Applicants submit their location, social links, ice cream habits and post about a flavour. By 2 September, 6 days after the posting (which included a travel schedule), 200,000 people had applied.
Signal: Recruitment can build more than a team: it can build a brand.
Every country on the travel schedule builds anticipation. An application process open to the public creates participation. The applications themselves provide market research. This is not just a job posting, it’s a brand launch, a media campaign and a market entry study. Even before anyone gets the job, it has already delivered.
Why does Snoop Dogg have an ice cream brand?
Because his father hand churned ice cream on a dairy farm. He passed the technique to Snoop, who passed it to his son. We may know Snoop for his music, but ice cream is part of his legacy too, and his mythology gives Dr. Bombay all the meaning it needs.
Apply here.

3
Move: e.l.f. Cosmetics sponsors the Minnesota State Fair with a 10ft pickle jar.
For four days, e.l.f. was present at the Minnesota State Fair, which attracts almost 2 million people. It was the fair’s only official beauty sponsor and the first major beauty presence there in 20 years. The brand was building demand for a limited-edition lip balm in three flavours: The Real Dill, e.l.f. von Dill and Spicy Lil’ Dill.
Signal: Being first somewhere is better than being tenth elsewhere.
Every beauty brand is fighting for attention. So e.l.f. found a place where beauty wasn’t. A place where nearly 2.1 million pickle chips are eaten every year, and where its product belonged. Being somewhere first means there is no noise to cut through.
Why were no other beauty brands present?
Because state fairs don’t fit the story beauty brands like to tell. They are not glamorous. They are regional and for everybody. When every brand follows the same playbook, they end up in the same places, fighting for attention.
If  you liked this, you’ll like Move 2 in Privacy, Pleasure and Play: Bicester  Village unveils a Beryl Cook installation.

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Image reference: Tesla, Cybercab.
Sources: Forbes, Yahoo Finance, NBC News, Billboard, Entrepreneur, Dr. Bombay, Modern Retail, RetailBoss, e.l.f. Beauty, Minnesota State Fair