For those of you who may not know it, May 4 was Star Wars Day.
Cars.com CEO Alex Vetter cheekily acknowledged as much at the end of the dealership technology company's first-quarter earnings call last week when he ended with: "May the Fourth be with you."
It made me laugh out loud.
I grew up loving the original three Star Wars films but lost track of the whole mythology as an adult, so I didn't know that Star Wars Day was a thing.
It's a huge thing, especially in the tech world.
CBS Miami is among the media outlets that wrote about it last week, noting that the late British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher made one of the earliest-known "May the Fourth be with you" greetings in 1979, marking a possible start of the unofficial holiday. I couldn't help but notice that one of my brothers also recognized this year's Star Wars Day on Facebook.
I contacted a Cars.com spokesperson to confirm what Vetter said and why he said it at the end of an investors call. Investor and analyst calls are often sober affairs, after all, and so the quip stood out.
"As a tech company we appreciate the history of Star Wars and the incredible, future-forward tech the series brought to the world," the spokesperson told me via email. " 'May the Force be with you' is one of the most iconic phrases ever, so Alex just added a bit of timeliness, pop culture and humor to the end of the call."
She said Vetter "also has a great sense of humor and quick wit," adding that she "certainly laughed out loud" after he said it.
Vetter made his quip after Cars.com reported mostly positive quarterly results, so there was room to be lighthearted. Even so, who knew? A CEO with a sense of humor.
