Brief history of the company
Tesla Motors, Inc. is an American company that was founded in 2003. The driving idea behind the venture was proving electric vehicles could be a viable substitute of the gasoline powered cars without sacrificing comfort, performance or luxury. Apart from the core function of designing and producing electric cars, Tesla also provides advance electric vehicle powertrain components and know-how to other automakers, which are looking into venturing in the EV (electric vehicles) market, such as Daimler, Toyota and others. The company’s headquarters are located in Palo Alto, California. Due to their specific business and marketing model, namely, no middle-man and little-to-no mass scale marketing campaigns, Tesla has wholly-owned subsidiaries in North America, Europe and Asia. At present, there are more than 2000 employees globally working for the company in the manufacturing, design and in the 31 stores and service locations spread worldwide.
Although not the only producer of entirely electrically powered vehicles, Tesla is renowned as the vanguard of the market. Tesla is the only one to offer high-performance EVs at a highly competitive price. In 2008 Tesla launched the Tesla Roadster, the first solely electric sports car which became a worldwide sensation, exhibiting high-end performance comparable, if not better, with premium sports cars. Following the trickledown marketing plan, Tesla expanded its technological advantage to the luxury sedan market and launched Model S in 2012.
Mission Statement and Current position
Tesla’s goal is to accelerate the world’s transition to electric vehicles with affordable and appealing electric cars. Tesla’s CEO, Elon Musk, claims on the website that “we 're catalysing change in the industry. Tesla vehicles… are fun to drive and environmentally responsible” (Musk, 2013). To make this happen, TESLA is also establishing a network of charging stations, powered by solar energy
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