I would agree with you if we were just talking about the abstract idea of marketing. But like everything else, the devil is in the details.

The marketing industry in the US is built not only to get the word out about your product, but also to gatekeep who can compete in our free market.

With marketing being so pervasive as to monetize the entire internet it effectively levies a tax on every business that wants to compete.

If you dont have the marketing budget to outspend your competition then they have no competition.

Really? How much did Tesla spend on marketing?

	▲	ilovetux 23 minutes ago \| parent [-]
		Fair enough, I suppose. While Tesla has (in some years) avoided traditional marketing, the ceo is known for spending ridiculous amounts of money on publicity stunts like having a submarine shipped to a cave and buying Twitter to boost public perception of his companies. I think this is the exception that proves the rule.