By James Davis
In most cases, when a major brand enters the Web3 space, it gives NFT collectors reasons to celebrate. However, it wasn’t the case for Porsche. The high-end car maker failed to sell out its NFT collection and had to announce new plans that involved cutting the supply.
Initially, Porsche availed over 7,000 NFTs for minting, but so far, only 1,805 have been collected. The NFTs are designed to celebrate the auto manufacturer’s 911 sports vehicle, and each NFT holder will have access to exclusive merchandise and events.
Porsche Criticized for Setting Expensive Mint Price
The buzz around Porsche’s NFT collection took a negative turn on Saturday when the firm revealed each piece would sell for 0.913 ETH. Currently, that’s about $1,474, and it seems expensive considering the ongoing crypto winter that has lasted for months.
Crypto Twitter then went after the automaker, with many prominent NFT creators and collectors criticizing Porsche’s move by calling it a cash grab. Some said that $144 (0.0912 ETH) per piece would be more reasonable. The firm didn’t immediately respond to the backlash and opted to carry on with its plans.
On Tuesday, hours after the public mint had begun, the primary sales slowed down, and to make matters worse, the collectors quickly resold their NFTs below the mint price on various secondary marketplaces in an attempt to flee the scene. As a result, Porsche was forced to make a change in its plan.
Porsche announced that the team behind the NFT project would cut the supply and halt the mint to focus on creating an awesome experience for a small exclusive community. It remains to be seen how the automaker will proceed with just a small group of NFT owners.
Other Global Brands Criticized for Their NFT Projects
Porsche joins a list of several big brands whose attempts to venture into Web3 have gone wrong. For example, despite Pepsi’s ‘Mic Drop’ being a free mint, many NFT fans criticized it, claiming it was a weird artwork. Moreover, a Game of Thrones NFT was also mocked for ‘glitchy artwork’.
In addition, celebrity-inspired NFTs have continued to face similar criticism. A notable example is Donald Trump’s digital trading cards which were even mocked by his supporters. Despite the criticism, Trump’s collection sold out, and at one point its daily trading volume surged by 790%.