Ricardo Reyes, who headed Tesla’s communications department through the Roadster era, has returned to the company, replacing Simon Sproule as communications chief.

Reyes left Tesla in 2012 to work for payment startup Square. His previous gigs included running communications for YouTube and Google. Back at Tesla, Reyes will oversee public relations, customer communications and the company’s online presence.

In contrast to the legacy automakers, Tesla has devoted comparatively little effort to marketing and public relations. The company’s attitude might be summed up by the oft-quoted aphorism, “If you build a truly revolutionary product, the marketing will take care of itself.”

Con @barbara_bermudo en @thelabmiami pic.twitter.com/QatHlqhYlA

— ricardo reyes (@ricardor) March 25, 2014

According to Bloomberg, recruiters spent weeks searching for “someone like Ricardo” who had a good rapport with Elon Musk, one of Silicon Valley’s most demanding bosses. It turned out that the man himself was enthusiastic about rejoining the company.

“When I first went to Tesla, I thought the company had this incredible mission, and then there were the tall odds and challenges that attracted me,” Reyes says. “As I look at it now, the company has not lost any of that drive or ambition, and the mission is really clear.”

Source: Bloomberg Businessweek
Image: pestoverde/Flickr