Tesla Case Study

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Tesla made sure that the Roadster’s malfunctions would not happen again and they assisted their customers regarding these problems. They downplayed the severity of the battery depletion to future buyers and existing owner. Privately, Tesla has gone great lengths to prevent this brand-destroying problem. They promised future buyers that these problems will not happen to the future Model S and Model X. They already invested a lot in their battery gigafactory to make their batteries cheap to future buyers and current owners

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The main limitation of any electric car is its battery, with concerns on capacity, charging options, and long-term degradation. In this regard, Tesla should invest more in developing a more advanced battery technology that will offer faster charging rates, higher storage capacity and lower battery degradation rate. Self-charging batteries is another consideration with the fact that not everyone has access to his/her own garage and charging stations are also limited at this stage. Self-sufficient cars will appeal more to consumers. Tesla is already making solar panels for home use so why not make compact solar panels and integrate them in the electric car to make it self-sufficient. They can provide day-mode and night-mode options, by running either from solar panel energy or from batteries. This will not only eliminate the reliability on charging stations but also eliminates the charging costs. Not to mention the environmental improvement this will achieve by not depending on electricity generated by power plants.

Tesla should look into increasing its production goals. The company has been on constant backlog in their production and it must address this issue as soon as possible to keep up with the increasing demand for their product. Moreover, they should continue to pursue on reducing their selling markup. According to the Tesla’s CEO, the company’s ultimate goal is “to accelerate the advent of sustainable transport by bringing compelling mass market electric cars to market as soon as possible” (Musk, 2013). They are planning to release a mass-market affordable vehicle by 2020. Targeting the mass market will increase the production demand and will in turn produce higher revenues for the company.

Other car manufacturers have launched their own versions of fully electric cars. But for a start-up company, Tesla has done so well competing against well-established brands. Amidst the growing competition in the electric car market, Tesla should stay on top of their game by continually offering improvements to its products and addressing market limitations. Tesla markets electric powertrain components and lithium-ion battery packs to automakers like Daimler and Toyota.

Finally, Tesla should take aggressive steps to make a world-wide campaign on the environmental benefits of using fully electric cars. Fully electric cars reduce carbon-based greenhouse gas emissions that heat the atmosphere and causes climate changes. Fully electric cars also encourage the use of renewable energy when they draw upon electricity generated by hydroelectric, wind or solar power. These environmental advantages are of high significance and supporting the cause will have a great impact in our future.

REFERENCES

Baer, D. (Nov. 11, 2014). The Making of Tesla: Invention, Betrayal, and the Birth of the Roadster. Retrieved from: http://www.businessinsider.com/tesla-the-origin-story-2014-10

Wikipedia. (Feb. 12, 2016). Tesla Motors. Retrieved from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tesla_Motors

Tesla Motors. (2016). Tesla’s missions to accelerate world’s transition to sustainable transport. Retrieved from: https://www.teslamotors.com/about

Albright, B (2014). Tesla Keeps Fighting. Retrieved from: http://search.proquest.com/docview/1541531334?accountid=131940

Broder, J (2013). Stalled out on Tesla’s Electric Highway. New York Times. Retrieved from:

Degusta, M.(2012). It’s a Brick-Tesla Motor’s devastating design problem. Theunderstatement.com. Retrieved from: http://theunderstatement.com/post/18030062041/its-a-brick-tesla-motors-devastating- design

Zucchi, Kristina, CFA. (2015, July 21). What Makes Tesla's Business Model Different? Retrieved from http://www.investopedia.com/articles/active-trading/072115/what-makes-teslas-business-model-different.asp

Hartung, Adam. (2013, June 28). Why Tesla Is Beating GM, Nissan and Ford. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/adamhartung/2013/06/28/why-tesla-is-beating-gm-nissan-and-ford/#213dc7d67fed

Musk, Elon. Chairman, Product Architect & CEO (2013, November 18). The Mission of Tesla. Retrieved from https://www.teslamotors.com/blog/mission-tesla

GoElectricDrive website. Retrieved from http://www.goelectricdrive.org/drive-electric/environmental-benefits