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Golden Hour in Crisis PR: Masterclass from Elon Musk

Jan 1, 2025: Tesla Cybertruck explodes outside Trump Las Vegas hotel, killing the driver.


A potentially reputation-damaging incident, with nuances that might be hidden between the lines. Elon Musk, currently the richest man in the world and a frequent visitor of Mar-a-Lago, is known not only for his business achievements but also for his sharp remarks, often shared on his platform, X (so often it feels like 24h job). His response to the event? Lightning fast. Literally.


Reports of the explosion began surfacing on January 1st at approximately 8:35-8:40 PM. Musk responded on his X account at 8:51 PM with the following statement:


The whole Tesla senior team is investigating this matter right now. Will post more information as soon as we learn anything. We’ve never seen anything like this.


At 10:12 PM, he posted an update, ultimately deflecting the blow from what is perhaps his most critical asset Tesla:


We have now confirmed that the explosion was caused by very large fireworks and/or a bomb carried in the bed of the rented Cybertruck and is unrelated to the vehicle itself. All vehicle telemetry was positive at the time of the explosion.


While some media have already described this as a masterclass in crisis communication (and I don’t like to rewrite after other), there’s one detail that hasn’t been widely discussed.


In crisis communication, the first, so called “golden” hour after an incident is critically important. In an age when information spreads in fractions of a second, this initial window determines who will control the narrative—public opinion, the media, or the involved party.


That’s why a response must be issued as soon as possible, asserting authority over the situation. It’s likely that the party involved—whether it’s a company or a public figure—won’t have all the details or a full plan of action within this timeframe. But even a simple acknowledgment in the public sphere is often enough to pause speculation and take control of the narrative’s direction.


The term “golden hour” is borrowed from medicine, where it refers to the critical time for intervention to save a life. Similarly, in PR, a message such as:


We are aware of the situation and are working to determine the facts. Updates will follow

— can suffice in the early stages.


As a counterexample to this situation, consider the December scandal involving Matilda Djerf, a Swedish influencer and founder of the brand Djerf Avenue. In Sweden, an article was published accusing the brand of workplace bullying. Djerf shared her perspective a week later, posting a message on Instagram. Not only was the message itself an example of what not to do, but by then it couldn’t compete with the opinions that had already formed over the course of that week about both the brand and its founder.




Issuing a prompt statement doesn’t mean the pressure is off—the next 36 hours are just as critical, but we’ll talk about those another time x

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