Introduction
Tesla is one of the most innovative companies on the face of the earth. They specialize in
electric automobile manufacturing, battery storage, and solar powered products. Established in
2003 by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning, Tesla aimed to accelerate the pace of
sustainability (Wu, 2024). Elon Musk joined the corporation as the CEO in 2008 and brought an
exceptional vision to life (Wu, 2024).
Q1. Provide a description of the product/service and a brief history of the firm.
In 2008 the first Tesla car was produced called the Roadster. This was not just another
car, but an engineering masterpiece that was completely battery powered. Tesla open a
manufacturing facility in Freemont, CA spanning 5.3 million square-feet, the factory was
previously owned by Toyota and General Motors (Wu, 2024). Tesla has grown to become much
more than just the Roadster. Today’s portfolio of products includes several models of
automobiles and a Cybertruck, battery power storage solutions, and solar solutions including the
roof shingles (Unknown, 2024).
Q2. Explain the organization’s current or possible global marketing efforts. (Ch. 3)
Tesla has leveraged several types of marketing efforts including direct to consumer,
social media, innovation and technology leadership, and localization (Accelingo, 2024). “Direct-
to-consumer, a core tenet of Tesla’s global strategy is its emphasis on direct-to-consumer
marketing. This approach allows Tesla to control brand messaging and cultivate a consistent
customer experience across all touchpoints. Tesla leverages its website, social media platforms,
and company-owned stores to directly connect with potential buyers” (Accelingo, 2024). In the
textbook we see a very important strategy that global brands must be aware of the importance of
localization of the brand messaging (Marshall & Johnston, 2023). “While a strong global brand
identity is crucial, Tesla’s long-term success hinges on adapting its marketing messages to
resonate with diverse cultural contexts. This is a critical aspect of Tesla’s global strategy that will
be explored in more detail later in this article. Effective localization of marketing materials,
considering factors like language, cultural references, and local regulations, will be essential for
building trust and maximizing sales potential in new markets” (Accelingo, 2024).
Q3. Explain the organization’s mission. Provide its mission statement or create one if
necessary.
Please format this with quotation marks, italics, or bold print. (Ch 3)
“Tesla’s EHS&S mission is to accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy by
safely building, selling, servicing, and delivering all-electric vehicles, and infinitely scalable,
clean energy generation and storage products” (Unknown, 2024).
Q4. Explain the organization’s competitive strategy. Chapter 3 provides the names of specific
strategies. Select one of these specific strategies. (Ch.3)
According to the textbook, there are three primary competitive strategies: low cost,
differentiation, and focus (also referred to as “niche”) (Marshall & Johnston, 2023). Tesla has
leveraged the differentiation strategy by building a non-fossil fueled vehicle that differentiates
itself from the competition. “In applying the differentiation focus strategy, the company
emphasized the uniqueness of its products, but also focused mainly on early adopters in the high-
end market for electric vehicles. These early adopters are affluent customers who have a high
tendency to purchase newly introduced products” (Rowland, 2023).
Q5. Conduct a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) analysis for the
organization. Structure this with a heading for each of the four components. (Ch.3)
Strengths: Tesla is known to be an employer of choice due to its diversity and
innovation friendly culture. Tesla is the most valuable automobile firm holding a market
capitalization of $208 billion. The organization is strong boasting healthy financial resources,
brand loyalty, products and services. They have effective marketing strategies spending money
only on the launches of their new products. Innovation is another key strength not just in the car
business but also in the clean energy space. Tesla is also the electric vehicle market dominator
(Shastri, 2024).
Weaknesses: Tesla has had several mechanical complications as the innovation stretches
the limits of the products capabilities. They have had high employee turnover and low employee
enthusiasm due to poor employee safety conditions. Tesla has also had challenges with battery
shortages effecting the inventory available for sale (Shastri, 2024).
Opportunities: Tesla has a large supply of untapped markets such as the Asian market
where desire for renewable energy and electric vehicles are growing rapidly. Tesla is launching
more affordable car models such as the model 3 that will open new markets. Bringing battery
production in-house will reduce the dependency on outside suppliers. Autonomous driving
technology is another amazing opportunity as the acceptance for auto pilot has increased
(Shastri, 2024).
Threats: Tesla faces continued technological developments from their competitors. They
also face new entrants to the renewable energy and electric vehicle markets. Growing
controversies have led to increased numbers of lawsuits against the CEO Elon Musk. Tesla is
facing increasing level of competition. The exchange rate is another threat due to the global
expansion of Tesla (Shastri, 2024).
References:
Accelingo. (2024, March 22). Tesla’s global strategy: Taking over the world, one EV at a time.
https://www.accelingo.com/teslas-global-strategy/
Marshall, G., & Johnston, M. (2023). Marketing Communications. In Marketing Management
(4th ed., pp. 42–42). essay, McGraw Hill Education LLC.
Rowland, C. (2023, September 8). Tesla’s Generic Competitive Strategy & Growth Strategies.
Panmore Institute. https://panmore.com/tesla-motors-inc-generic-strategy-intensive-
growth-strategies-analysis
Shastri, A. (2024, January 18). An in-depth swot analysis of Tesla - 2024 updated. IIDE.
https://iide.co/case-studies/swot-analysis-of-tesla/
Unknown. (2024). Electric cars, Solar & Clean Energy. Tesla. https://www.tesla.com/
Wu, A. (2024, March 27). Tesla’s got the keys: A history of its success. Investopedia.
https://www.investopedia.com/articles/personal-finance/061915/story-behind-teslas-
success.asp#:~:text=Tesla%20Motors%20was%20founded%20as,first%20electric%20car
%2C%20the%20Roadster.
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