Elon Tesla Case Study Statement

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Elon Musk, the cofounder, chief executive officer and visionary of Tesla Motors captured the public’s attention by providing us with a green, stylish, and affordable alternative to the traditional gas-guzzling automobile (Hull, 2015). Musk has become somewhat of a celebrity, enabling him to raise billions from investors that believe in his vision for the future of electric vehicle transportation. Now he must convince the consumer to invest in his company, and buy a lot more cars (Hull, 2015, p. 20). Tesla sold only 50,000 vehicles in 2015, but with 400,000 pre-orders for the 2017 Model 3, Musk recently announced the production target for 2018 at 500,000 vehicles (DeBord, 2016). Tesla Motors holds a unique position in the automobile industry. When musk formulated his vision of Tesla Motors, he decided to defy the status quo and completely change the automobile industry. He noticed other automobile manufacturers were not producing electric cars as well as they could be produced, which led him to Tesla’s niche (Stringham, 2015, p. 87). According to Musk, “the single largest macro problem that humanity faces this century is solving the sustainable energy problem—that is, the sustainable production and …show more content…

Tesla’s strategy is to conduct direct sales, from the manufacturer to the consumer. U.S. States require automakers like Ford and General Motors to sell their vehicles through networks of independent dealers. Tesla has fought and one against dealer franchise laws in several states, but some states still refuse to allow direct sales. In the states that refuse to budge on the direct sales issue, Tesla opened galleries where consumers can view the vehicles, but they cannot test-drive, or discuss price with Tesla employees (Hull, 2015, p. 21). Restrictive state laws are proving to be a significant threat to Tesla’s direct sales approach and may lead to a change in strategy in the

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