Tesla Motors
Professor Serluco
Financial Management II
Charles W. Slaven
December 14th, 2014
Introduction
Tesla Motors, Inc. is a Silicon Valley based company that designs, manufactures and sells electric cars and electric vehicle power train components. Entrepreneur/Inventor Elon Musk and four other associates founded Tesla in 2003. Tesla is strategically positioned in the electric vehicle market as a high end manufacturer and dealer. Tesla gains competitive advantage over auto industry competitors because of their direct-to-consumer sales, stores and service centers, innovative consumer financing options, and technological innovations. Tesla faces multiple risks in its ongoing operations and strategic plans for future growth. Tesla’s 2012 annual report cites 63 risks related to Tesla’s business and industry and an additional 6 risks related to the ownership of their common stock. In an attempt to identify gaps and propose recommendations for future implementation an analysis of the principal forces of supply and demand on the industry / company is required.
Tesla Motors—Objective and Strategy
Channel
Tesla Motors eschews the traditional auto industry “dealership” model and bypasses dealers and reaches customers directly through company-owned showrooms and online retail channels
Value-added services are included, such as supercharger stations being installed in major markets throughout the US.
Strategy
Tesla aims to become a mass producer of electric vehicles.
In 2008, it launched the Tesla Roadster model—a paradigm shift/keystone in the EV market.
Tesla has positioned itself as a key competitor in the EV market.
Market Positioning
Tesla covers key EV market segments and dominates the EV segment of the larger automotive industry.
The 2012 Model S targeted at the middle- and upper-middle-class customer.
The 2014 Model X to take advantage of the booming SUV crossover segment.
The 2016 Gen III is positioned to compete with mass
References: Bowman, Robert J. SupplyChainBrain, Tesla Motors: A Tale of Beauty and Pain, Mar 01, 2010 http://www.supplychainbrain.com/content/index.php?id=5032&cHash=081010&tx_ttnews%5btt_news%5d=7478 Bullis, Kevin; Why Tesla Survived and Fisker Won’t MIT Technology Review; April 4, 2013 http://www.technologyreview.com/news/513151/why-tesla-survived-and-fisker-wont/ Doucet, Jenna; The Automotive Industry (Macroeconomic Analysis) WordPress, 2010 http://jennadoucet.wordpress.com/2010/03/14/21/ Eisenstein, Paul; Tesla Model S Gets Best NHTSA Safety Rating Ever; MSN Autos; Aug 20, 2013 http://editorial.autos.msn.com/tesla-model-s-gets-best-nhtsa-safety-rating-ever Hirschey, Mark; Managerial Economics 12th Ed. Soth-Western, A Cenage Learning Company; 2009 Mamudi, Sam; Believe the Tesla Hype: Morgan Stanley; Barrons; May 14, 2013 http://blogs.barrons.com/stockstowatchtoday/2013/05/14/believe-the-tesla-hype-morgan-stanley/ Seeking Alpha, Tesla Motors: A Perfect Hedge, Mar 13, 2013 http://ir.teslamotors.com/secfiling.cfm?filingID=1193125-12-137560&CIK=1318605 Van Susteren, Eric Silicon Valley Business Journal Tesla says Gigafactory will source only North American materials, Apr 21, 2014