Tesla Launched, Quickly Took Down, Branded Merch Store on Amazon

By Brendan Menapace

So here's a weird thing: Tesla started an Amazon store where it listed a whole bunch of branded merch, like drinkware, writing instruments, model cars and more. That's not the weird part. The weird part is that, as soon as it started picking up some hype from sites like TechCrunch and Mashable, the store disappeared.

Tesla expands its merch ambitions https://t.co/qtADHEzNeT

— TechCrunch (@TechCrunch) February 6, 2019

And Tesla's Amazon site is gone..
..

Hi Oliver. pic.twitter.com/RnS1FU0uAU

— techAU (@techAU) February 5, 2019

There are two working theories here:

Tesla sold out of everything immediately, and fans are waiting eagerly for their Tesla-branded swag to arrive in the mail en masse.
This was a mistake and the site wasn't supposed to be live yet.

TechCrunch pointed out that the Amazon store seemed to be a complement to Tesla's existing merchandise store. But, there were at least two Amazon-exclusive items on sale: an iPhone 8+ case and a Tesla iPhone X folio case. There did not appear to be any of those $1,500 branded surfboards.

So, right now Amazon shoppers are missing out on some pretty swanky promo items like a 1:18-scale Tesla Model S toy car with "steerable wheels" for $250, until Tesla decides to put the store back up.

The International Business Times speculated that putting Tesla items on Amazon, even for a minute, "seems to be part of a Tesla experiment to experience the pros and cons of selling on the world's most profitable online website." IBT added that there's a chance that Tesla puts items like electric car accessories on its Amazon store, should it get it back up and running.

So, the biggest question here is: Why did Tesla do this? The best answer is: Elon Musk is not someone who does normal things.