When we talk about leaders in the auto industry using social media, Ford and General Motors come readily to mind. Audi is quickly clawing their way into that circle, while Toyota and Lexus have recently increased their efforts to get visibility.

Notice Tesla was not on that short list? That is because, while they do participate in social media, they do not create quite the stir the others do. Seems Tesla felt that Audi giving Kevin Rose an R8 V10 for a week created quite a stir. So what do you do? Well, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery right?

This morning Tony Hawk tweeted out "Thank you Tesla for lending me a Roadster during TH:Shred launch..." Hawk also tweeted out these two images, calling the roadster "the best go cart ever" and asking, rhetorically, "gas?" Just as Audi gave Kevin Rose the R8 V10, it seems Tesla has given Tony Hawk a Roadster Sport 2.5.

Tony Hawk is a big name in the skateboard industry among many others, holding more awards than we know about, while also leading the charge in the skateboard gaming industry. While he has the Tesla Roadster Sport 2.5 he is more than likely going to tweet about it. Having 2,230,100 followers on Twitter is nothing to scoff at--most are probably die hard fans.

Tesla will definitely get their money's worth out of this PR stunt. In reality it cost them nothing more than a loan of a Tesla Roadster Sport 2.5. Of course Tony Hawk is friends with many celebrities, so getting him in a Tesla Roadster is essentially getting the car in front of many high profile people that can actually afford the car--not to mention all his fans. The only question is, did they put a special skateboard rack in the trunk?

[Twitter]