Japan

Major League Baseball Player Shohei Ohtani Buys Tesla Model X, a Boost to Brand Loyalty in Japan

Major League Baseball Player Shohei Ohtani Buys Tesla Model X, a Boost to Brand Loyalty in Japan

Image: Hiro Mizuno/Twitter

Famous Major League Baseball player from Japan Shohei Ohtani bought a Tesla Model X. He chose Tesla as his first car purchase, which will certainly be great, free publicity for the brand in Japan.

Shohei Ohtani is a Japanese professional baseball pitcher, designated hitter, and outfielder for the Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball (MLB). He recorded the fastest pitch by a Japanese pitcher and in NPB history at 102.5 mph. Ohtani is definitely a baseball star and has a huge impact on his fans. He has now also attracted widespread attention from Tesla investors after choosing Model X as his first car.

Ohtani got his US driver's license during the offseason and has now been spotted driving a Tesla Model X to Spring Training. At the moment, he has owned the car for several months. A video capturing him entering his new car was published by Tesla board member Hiro Mizuno, who is also Japanese and is very supportive of the rapid introduction of electric vehicles on the roads of his home country. Given Mizuno's passion for clean energy and electric vehicles, he was pleasantly impressed with Ohtani's choice. "Major League sensation, #ShoheiOhtani chose #ModelX as his first car! Good choice, Shohei," he wrote.


This tweet did not leave Tesla CEO Elon Musk indifferent on the matter, who expressed his emotions with two emojis in the form of a heart and a flag of Japan. It has long been known that he is seeking to expand Tesla's influence in the country as Japan is the fourth-largest auto market in the world.

For now, the manufacturer's cars continue to gain traction in Japan as Tesla slashed prices for Model 3, which went into effect on February 17 this year. This became possible because now, cars for the Japanese market are manufactured in China, which means their delivery is cheaper and faster than before. In addition, the Japanese government has doubled its incentives to buy electric vehicles. At the moment, the delivery times for Tesla cars have increased, which is evidence of the growth of orders.

Now that the baseball star has bought himself a Tesla, it will attract many of his fans to buy the company's cars and increase Japanese loyalty to the brand. Thus, Ohtani, like dozens of other celebrities, creates free advertising for Tesla. The selection of the company's vehicles by celebrities and ordinary people without any ads is the highest praise for the brand.

© 2021, Eva Fox. All rights reserved.

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Article edited by @SmokeyShorts, you can follow him on Twitter


About the Author

Eva Fox

Eva Fox

Eva Fox joined Tesmanian in 2019 to cover breaking news as an automotive journalist. The main topics that she covers are clean energy and electric vehicles. As a journalist, Eva is specialized in Tesla and topics related to the work and development of the company.

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