Rachel Konrad

Current

• Senior Manager of Communications at Tesla Motors

Past

• Silicon Valley Correspondent at The Associated Press
• Senior Writer at CNET News.com
• Automotive Writer at Detroit Free Press

• Business Writer at Spokesman Review
• English teacher, administrator at Instituto Británico de Idiomas, S.C.

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Education

• Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies
• Northwestern University

Connections

330 connections

Industry

Public Relations and Communications

Websites

• My Company

Rachel Konrad’s Summary

I am the senior communications manager at Tesla Motors, the only car company worldwide that's producing and selling highway-capable electric vehicles. I am involved in all facets of communication, including media relations. I work with reporters on extremely tight deadlines in the 24-7 news world but also establish and maintain long-term relationships with beat reporters, freelancers, reviewers, editors and bloggers. Accuracy, credibility and responsiveness were my priorities as a journalist -- and they remain so in public relations. Send me an e-mail if you'd like to know more about Tesla.

Rachel Konrad’s Specialties:

I have a wide-ranging role that encompasses media, internal, investor, government and customer relations. I am a spokesperson and work closely with the broader marketing and sales team. Before I began working at Tesla, I reported on the global technology and automobile industries. I also covered venture capital, real estate, media, finance, airlines, consumer debt and the economy.

Rachel Konrad’s Experience

• Senior Manager of Communications

  Tesla Motors

  (Privately Held; Automotive industry)

  September 2008 — Present (1 year 3 months)

  I manage communications at Tesla Motors, the Silicon Valley car company that produces the all-electric, zero-emission Roadster. I focus on corporate and product-oriented media relations, and I frequently serve a spokesperson for San Carlos, Calif.-based Tesla, the only automaker producing and selling a highway-capable EV. Tesla is an extremely dynamic, fast-paced, high-profile startup, without a lot of internal bureaucracy and hierarchy.
  
  I am the only communications and PR person at Tesla and handle public relations for all major company business initiatives. I manage corporate, internal, investor, customer and crisis communications. I work independently and collaboratively with every division of the company and with outside vendors. I wrote and continue to execute the company's strategic public relations plan, which operates within the overall sales and marketing division.
  
  I write news releases and other material, including blogs, Web copy, speeches and print collateral. I proactively pitch consumer, lifestyle, technology, automotive and general business stories to drive national and local coverage over all forms of media. I monitor media (both social media and traditional print, radio and TV), and I created and continue to maintain a global database of relevant media contacts.

• Silicon Valley Correspondent

  The Associated Press

  (Writing and Editing industry)

  August 2002 — January 2008 (5 years 6 months)

  I wrote about the technology, economy and culture of Silicon Valley. I was responsible for big-picture trend stories, spot news, product stories and executive changes. I covered the offshore outsourcing of engineering talent, economic espionage and electronic voting problems, among other broad topics. In addition, I also covered lifestyle issues, including food trends and leisure activities, ranging from karaoke to backpacking. I managed the four-person Silicon Valley bureau of the world's largest news organization, and I edited my colleague's raw copy and served as weekend editor and supervisor. I represented the AP and spoke on panels for journalists and the public relations industry. I was almost always working on extremely tight deadline.

• Senior Writer

  CNET News.com

  (Public Company; 1001-5000 employees; CNET; Online Media industry)

  March 2000 — August 2002 (2 years 6 months)

  I broke news, wrote profiles and edited copy on continual deadline for the Internet's top technology news site. I led a three-person team that spearheaded major breaking news coverage. I wrote economic trend stories and features, including age discrimination among computer programmers, the revival of Latin in online chat groups for linguists, and the subculture of foreign engineers on H-1B visas. I covered the dot-com boom, bust and redux.

• Automotive Writer

  Detroit Free Press

  (Public Company; Newspapers industry)

  September 1995 — March 2000 (4 years 7 months)

  I broke front-page stories ranging from Ford Motor's controversial campaign to assign letter grades all its white-collar workers to a story tracing the path of a hacker who spammed porn through Chrysler's corporate servers. I covered stories throughout North America, Asia and Europe. I was the primary reporter on the paper's award-winning coverage of world's largest industrial merger, DaimlerChrysler AG, and the first US journalist to score interviews with Daimler executives after the deal was announced. I conceived and executed a reporter exchange program with German daily Stuttgarter Zeitung, and I spent significant time reporting from southern Germany. I wrote occasional reviews and test-drove different cars nearly every week. I wrote frequently for the Travel section. I acted as Knight-Ridder's national and international correspondent on Elián González's return to Cuba, Western Europe's conversion to the euro and labor unrest in the airline industry. I helped cover advertising, media, economic development, sports business, technology and aviation industries.

• Business Writer

  Spokesman Review

  (Privately Held; 501-1000 employees; Newspapers industry)

  October 1994 — September 1995 (1 year )

  I broke news and wrote features on small business, entrepreneurship and Pacific Rim trade issues. I uncovered and wrote the award-winning tale of a traveling con artist who bankrupted Spokane's oldest family business (a Cadillac dealership). The series resulting in the thief's arrest. I substituted as a night city desk and weekend reporter, and I covered murders, fires, the militia and the rodeo -- all the bizarre stuff that happens in the Inland Empire.

• English teacher, administrator

  Instituto Británico de Idiomas, S.C.

  (Translation and Localization industry)

  November 1993 — May 1994 (7 months)

  I taught immersion-style English to Mexican and Japanese executives and their families in Mexico City. I specialized in American business English.

Rachel Konrad’s Education

• Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies

  none , International Reporting Project fellow , 2002 — 2002

  I won an international journalism fellowship at John Hopkins University's Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies. During the semester-long program, I focused on poverty and public policy in the Andes. I traveled throughout Ecuador to interview politicians, scholars, entrepreneurs and "people on the street" as the country embarked on an ambitious universal Internet access program. I wrote articles for The Associated Press, The New York Times and The Globalist. This fellowship was a highlight of my journalism career.

• Northwestern University

  BS/BA , two degrees -- history and journalism , 1989 — 1993

  I graduated with honors and a bachelor of science degree in journalism from Northwestern's Medill School of Journalism and a bachelor of arts degree in history from the College of Arts and Sciences in history (Latin American focus). My minor was Spanish. Go 'cats!

Additional Information

Rachel Konrad’s Websites:

• My Company

Rachel Konrad’s Groups:

•    Northwestern Grads Alumni
•    Silicon Valley Moms Group
•    PRSA Technology
•    Associated Press alumni

Rachel Konrad’s Contact Settings

Interested In:

• job inquiries
• expertise requests
• business deals
• getting back in touch