Tesla, Inc. (formerly Tesla Motors) is an automaker, energy storage company, and solar panel manufacturer based in Palo Alto, California (Burns, 2015). The company is named after the famous electrical engineer and physicist Nikola Tesla and was founded in 2003 by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning, two engineers who wanted to prove to people that electric vehicles could be better, quicker, and more fun to drive than gasoline cars (Tesla, n.d). During the early years of its incorporation, Tesla was primarily backed by one of the co-founders of PayPal, Elon Musk. In 2006, Musk released a statement titled “The Secret Tesla Motors Master Plan (just between you and me)" where he outlined the future for the company as follows: “build sports car,
…show more content…
Over the next few years, the company would begin shifting its focus to more affordable vehicles. Tesla expanded its product line by introducing the Model S and Model X. Originally priced at $57,400 USD, the Model S is a family sedan that can sit up to five people and has a range of 270 miles. Introduced at a price of $80,000 USD, the Model X is a fully electric crossover/SUV that can sit up to seven people and contains additional features such as a giant panoramic windshield that extends behind the front seat passengers heads for maximum visibility and towing capability up to 5,000 pounds. Following the introduction of the Model S and Model X, the company would begin to ramp up its production to over 50,000 cars a year. During this time, Tesla would also continue to release more innovations that would transform the automotive industry. One of these innovations was its Autopilot self-driving feature, which allows vehicles to stay in their lane and keep a safe distance from other cars, even in stop-and-go …show more content…
Within just two days of the announcement, almost 300,000 pre-orders had been placed for the car worldwide (Hern, 2016). Despite Tesla’s production plan to increase to a rate of 500,000 vehicles a year by 2018, the company has started to show in recent years that they want to be much more than just an automaker. In 2014, Tesla announced plans to build a Gigafactory – a large scale facility designed to significantly reduce battery cell costs (Tesla, n.d). Just a year later, they would also announce the Tesla Powerwall - a set of high-capacity batteries that can be used for home energy storage (Griggs, 2015). The biggest surprise, however, would come in 2016 when the company acquired SolarCity, the largest installer of rooftop solar systems in the United States (Gavin, 2016). Today, Tesla not only builds all-electric vehicles but is also clearly focused on clean energy generation and storage products. The company continues to grow with a reported $7 billion in revenue last year and now has over 33,000 employees worldwide (Lambert, 2017). This research report will look at Tesla, Inc. and how management is meeting challenges to the sustainability of the company at the current
Over the next few years, the company would begin shifting its focus to more affordable vehicles. Tesla expanded its product line by introducing the Model S and Model X. Originally priced at $57,400 USD, the Model S is a family sedan that can sit up to five people and has a range of 270 miles. Introduced at a price of $80,000 USD, the Model X is a fully electric crossover/SUV that can sit up to seven people and contains additional features such as a giant panoramic windshield that extends behind the front seat passengers heads for maximum visibility and towing capability up to 5,000 pounds. Following the introduction of the Model S and Model X, the company would begin to ramp up its production to over 50,000 cars a year. During this time, Tesla would also continue to release more innovations that would transform the automotive industry. One of these innovations was its Autopilot self-driving feature, which allows vehicles to stay in their lane and keep a safe distance from other cars, even in stop-and-go …show more content…
Within just two days of the announcement, almost 300,000 pre-orders had been placed for the car worldwide (Hern, 2016). Despite Tesla’s production plan to increase to a rate of 500,000 vehicles a year by 2018, the company has started to show in recent years that they want to be much more than just an automaker. In 2014, Tesla announced plans to build a Gigafactory – a large scale facility designed to significantly reduce battery cell costs (Tesla, n.d). Just a year later, they would also announce the Tesla Powerwall - a set of high-capacity batteries that can be used for home energy storage (Griggs, 2015). The biggest surprise, however, would come in 2016 when the company acquired SolarCity, the largest installer of rooftop solar systems in the United States (Gavin, 2016). Today, Tesla not only builds all-electric vehicles but is also clearly focused on clean energy generation and storage products. The company continues to grow with a reported $7 billion in revenue last year and now has over 33,000 employees worldwide (Lambert, 2017). This research report will look at Tesla, Inc. and how management is meeting challenges to the sustainability of the company at the current