Tesla Company: Advancing Sustainable Vehicles And Clean Energy

Tesla’s Vision and Mission

Tesla Company deals with the production of sustainable vehicles with the aim of accelerating the shift to using electric vehicles. Tesla’s Company CEO Elon Musk emphasizes the need to move towards sustainable energy due to the environmental benefits of reduced harmful emissions (Anon, 2018). Tesla was formed in Silicon Valley to explore the ability to use electric vehicles. The company has employed vast expertise and resources to come up with a powerful electric car thus proving the possibility of shifting from the use of vehicles. The other car manufacturers had doubted the possibility of the shift but with Tesla developing the first electric car, more companies now consider developing the vehicles (Collard-Wexler, 2015).

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Tesla Company currently targets a small market made up of the rich since the vehicles sell at a high cost (Randewich, 2018). However, the company associates the high cost to the increased cost of production incurred to develop one unit. Therefore, the company can only target the few rich customers who can afford to pay the price. However, the company has employed experts to come up with simpler technology to manufacture the vehicles in masses and at low costs. The success of the mass production technology will enable the company to sell the products to the low earning customers who form the largest percentage of the market share (Aravind, 2015).

The CEO Elon Musk states that the company intends to enable other car manufacturing companies to move towards developing electric cars. Therefore, the company will share resources and expertise with the other industry players. The company aims at ensuring that the world shifts to electric cars within the next ten years (Govil, 2013).

Tesla Motors

Vision 

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Tesla’s vision is to create the most compelling car company of the 21st century by driving the world’s transition to electric vehicles (Anon, 2018). The vision shows Tesla’s intention to move towards sustainable energy and assist other companies to do the same. Tesla wishes to share the technology with other car manufacturing companies to ensure that the world moves towards the use of sustainable energy.

Mission

Tesla’s mission is to accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy (Anon, 2018). The acceleration happens by manufacturing electric cars for the mass markets. The company wishes that all the car users and manufacturers shift towards electric cars to reduce the environmental pollution caused by fuel emissions. The company intends to share the technology with other companies to eliminate the reluctance posed by manufacturers who believe that electric cars will not succeed.

Recent Developments

Recent developments 

Tesla Company has recently developed the most compelling electric car (Hope, 2015). The electric model has a high horsepower and competes with the likes of BMW, Mercedes, and Audi. Tesla developed models S and X that targeted the luxury market. However, the company has come up with model 3, which costs less compared to the previous models. Tesla seeks to achieve zero emissions in the future of motor vehicles.

Additionally, Tesla has succeeded at acting as the catalyst for the shift towards sustainable energy (Johnson, 2014). The company has installed advanced machinery and technology to enable the successful development of electric cars. Furthermore, Tesla has motivated other companies to adopt sustainable technology with new that Apple Company also intends to produce electric vehicles. The ability to motivate other companies to shift towards the development of electric cars marks an important milestone in the achievement of Tesla objectives (Juhari, 2018).

On the other hand, Tesla has currently employed experts to check the possibility of developing an autonomous car. The autonomous car will not require a driver to move from one place to another. The company has developed functioning prototypes that prove the possibility of developing autonomous vehicles. The CEO Elon Musk reports that the autonomous vehicles could hit the market soon after the finalization of a few details that will ensure that the vehicles do not pose a risk by following the will of a few people (Lambert, 2018).

Challenges 

Tesla Company faces various challenges in the market including resistance by other car manufacturers to adopt the electric vehicles (Marr, 2018). Most of the big car manufacturers such as BMW does not believe in the feasibility of the electric car. The reluctant companies argue that electric cars will require high production and maintenance costs. Therefore, Tesla faces a difficulty in initiating a mass movement towards sustainable energy.

On the other hand, Tesla faces the challenge of inadequate resources to engage in mass production and sell cheaply (Infoentrepreneurs.org, 2018). The currently available technology only allows Tesla to produce few units at very high costs of production. Therefore, Tesla only satisfies the few rich people in the market since the mass low-income earners cannot afford the vehicles. The high cost of the products scares away potential customers thus posing a challenge to the objective of shifting towards sustainable energy.

Furthermore, Tesla faces the challenge of few charging zones for the vehicles. The vehicles will require charging after covering the limited miles, which takes longer compared to fueling. Therefore, the people using the vehicles could end up spending more time on the road. The company has not come up with a quick way of charging the vehicles, which has resulted in the customers preferring the fuel powered vehicles. Additionally, only a few charging stations exists meaning that the electric car owners could face problems when the car depletes charge in zones without the charging spots.

Challenges

Industry trends

Autonomous vehicles

The motor vehicle industry intends to move towards autonomous vehicles with successful prototypes already developed (Technavio, 2018). The prototypes will undergo various tests to establish safety and durability after which mass production will begin. The autonomous vehicles will provide additional comfort to the passengers, reduce car accidents and manage traffic better. The researchers believe that autonomous vehicles will provide an excitingexperience to the users.

Various car manufacturers have developed prototypes of 3D printed cars and could hit the market sooner than expected (Technavio, 2018). The 3D printing of the vehicles has benefits such as low cost of production and reduced manufacturing time. The 3D printing has experienced more investors over time meaning that the project could face success within a short time.

Sustainable vehicles

The sustainable vehicles will use clean energy such as biogas and solar energy to power the engines (Technavio, 2018). The vehicles will not result in harmful emissions to the atmosphere like the fuel powered engines. The car manufacturing companies have joined the move to sustainable cars. Therefore, the cars could hit the market very soon due to the dedication and investments put into the clean energy venture

Stakeholder description

Tesla suppliers provide various resources that enable the development of the vehicles (Talley, 2016). The major supplier of batteries for the automotive includes Panasonic. Tesla has chosen Panasonic due to the ability to supply high-quality products. Panasonic has signed a long-term contract with Tesla with the promise of supplying high-quality products at affordable prices. Other suppliers include AGC automotive who supply windshields while fisher dynamics supply powers seats (Maverick, 2018).

Customers        

Tesla has identified the customers as the tech-savvy business executives and entrepreneurs who live in the city (Park, 2014). The customers have a passion for new technology and love green energy.  Additionally, most of the customers have much wealth and tend to adopt new technology early. The customers mostly belong to the upper-class group of the market. The largest percentage of the customers comprises of the males with females taking up a smaller percentage (Zucchi, 2018).

Lenders and investors       

Tesla relies on borrowings and the sale of shares through the securities exchange (Juhari, 2018). Tesla allows the public to subscribe to the shares at the market price. The ability of Tesla to generate profits over the years has attracted many shareholders from the public. However, the CEO Elon Musk continues to hold the largest percentage of the company share. The borrowings come from the banks such as Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Morgan Chase and Bank of Montreal (Juhari, 2018).

Stakeholder Description

Employees

Tesla employees include a mixture of car industry specialists and Silicon Valley engineers who come up with innovative ideas (Sharkey, 2014). Additionally, the employees include learners from other car manufacturers who want to get further insight into the Tesla technology. The employees ensure that the company stays ahead of the competition with new inventions that change the operations in the car manufacturing industry.

Stakeholder analysis

Silicon Valley engineers

The Silicon Valley engineers belong to the employee category due to the provision of human resource necessary for running the company (Lambert, 2018). The Silicon Valley engineers portray the behavior of hard work with reports that some of the persons sleep at work for few hours before resuming to work. The engineers work 24/7 with few breaks in between the duties. Additionally, the engineers come up with solutions to problems and superior ideas compared to the other employees. The ideas have put Tesla above the other companies in the industry. The engineers work with the motive of ensuring that Tesla stays ahead of the competition with revolutionary discoveries.

Shareholders 

The shareholders belong to the lenders and investors category. The main shareholder includes Elon Musk the CEO of the company (Anon, 2018). Elon Musk provides leadership and sets an environment of hard work in the company. Elon Musk aims at ensuring that the company continues to generate profits, which increase the share earnings (Hope, 2015).

The high class market group

The high-class includes the rich people looking for luxurious cars that stand out in the market (Zucchi, 2018). The high-class group tends to adopt new technology early and pay high prices for the cars. The group’s motivation includes the need to maintain a high standard in the society.

Panasonic 

Panasonic belongs to the supplier category. The company delivers the batteries that make the automotive (Maverick, 2018). Panasonic delivers high-quality products at affordable prices as agreed with Tesla in the supply contract. The motive for supplying high-quality at low prices includes the need to maintain long-term relations with Tesla.

The generic strategic program for the stakeholders

Silicon Valley engineers

The Silicon Valley engineers fall under the employee category of stakeholders (Sikavica, 2018). The engineers require management through the swing program due to the level of importance and risk posed by the group. The engineers play an important role in ensuring that the company stays ahead of the competition with new revolutionary ideas. However, the group could pose challenges in the case of sabotage or moving to other competing organization. Therefore, Tesla should collaborate with the group to ensure that only positive results arise from the relationship.

Panasonic suppliers 

Panasonic suppliers belong to the supplier group of stakeholders (Sikavica, 2018). The group requires management through the hold strategy, which requires monitoring the changes in behavior and position. The hold strategy will enable Tesla to identify whether Panasonic still upholds the quality standards stated in the contract.

The rich car buyers

The group belongs to the customer class of stakeholders who buy the vehicles produced by the company (Shaftoe, 2018). The group requires Tesla to apply the defensive strategy, which means fending off competition from taking away the market share. The successful implementation of the strategy requires Tesla to maintain the production of high-quality and sustainable cars.

The shareholders

The shareholders belong to the lenders and investors group. Tesla should manage the shareholders using the hold strategy. The hold strategy requires Tesla to monitor the shareholder’s behavior and change of attitudes towards financially supporting the company projects (Kennon, 2018).

Recommendations for specific management programs

The best generic program for the customers includes the defensive strategy (Talley, 2016). The strategy requires Tesla to fend off the competition targeting the market share. The customers play an important role in the successful running of the company, which calls for protection from competitors. Tesla can protect the customers by employing aggressive marketing strategies and producing high technology products.

The employees require the swing strategy to allow a relationship based on mutual respect (Talley, 2016). The swing strategy calls for collaboration with the employees to ensure prolonged relations. The collaboration includes providing the required machinery and finances to smoothen the operations. The swing strategy plays an important role in maintaining a group of engineers who come up with revolutionary ideas in the car manufacturing industry.

The lenders and investors require the hold program to ensure that Tesla understands the behavior of financers (Sharkey, 2014). The hold strategy calls for monitoring the lenders’ behavior and developing the best terms that align with the demands. The reason for applying the hold strategy includes the need to maintain the investors happy and satisfied with the benefits earned from financing the company projects.

The suppliers require the hold strategy that calls for behavior and attitude monitoring to ensure mutual understanding. The hold strategy will require Tesla to respect the terms set out in the contract such as timely payments and early communication of the changes in battery requirements. The reason for applying the hold strategy includes ensuring that the relationship continues for the long-term. The suppliers play an important role in availing the resources at high-quality and affordable prices. Therefore, the group requires monitoring to ensure mutual respect in the relations (Juhari, 2018).

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