STERLING HEIGHTS, Mich. – It's not out of the ordinary for a child to write a letter to someone famous, but most letters don't have the same result as one recently written by a Sterling Heights fifth grader.
It's a long way from Graebner Elementary School to Tesla's base in California, so how did the company's CEO come in contact with a fifth grader in Sterling Heights? It all started with a letter.
"Dear Mr. Elon Musk, I'm Bria Loveday. I'm writing to you because I would like to make a suggestion to your company," the letter said.
Bria, 10, knows all about cars from her father, who is an auto writer. So when she got an assignment in school to write to a company, she picked Tesla.
"It was an expository writing," somebody said. "You could do a request, a suggestion, a compliment."
In the letter, Bria complimented the company's cool cars, but gave a suggestion, knowing they never advertise.
"I think you should make a contest to see who can make the best commercial," with the winner aired, Bria's letter said.
She emailed the letter to Tesla and her father Tweeted at the CEO because his daughter isn't on Twitter. Less than an hour later, Musk tweeted back.
"Thank you for the lovely letter," Musk said. "It sounds like a great idea. We'll do it!"
"I was so happy," Bria said. "It was the best thing ever."
Now the tweet has gone viral. National and international news organizations have covered the car company taking advice from a fifth grader. Since Bria had the ear of a multi-billion-dollar company's CEO, she had one more request.
"Thank you in advance. Your green fan, Bria," it said. "P.S. It would be so cool if you could hook me up with a Tesla T-shirt."
The company told Local 4 that it will conduct the contest in some shape or form, and that Bria should get her T-shirt Friday.