I wonder how much Tesla would have had to spend for an ad like that (ad, audience, good-will, etc). Less than $8 million, but probably a pretty hefty sum.
Yeah, oatmeal put a lot of effort into that. Intent was likely to get in the good graces of Tesla with the intent of following up with this ask. Unlikely that it was done just out of sheer fandom. Still I can see how the guy could care sincerely about the cause and do what he thought was reasonable to support it.
