I’m very happy to share with all of you that Tesla Motors delivered their first electric sedan – Model S on June 22, 2012 (Model S Deliveries have begun). That was a very important day for the company because all resources were put into development and production of Model S. Model S is their second, but the first mass-market model. Therefore, company is taking a big risk.
In class we discussed whether it is better to produce a new product or improve the old one. Tesla develops and manufactures electric vehicles with unique design, performance and efficiency and sells its product at a reasonable price. Their product is considered a niche product, because there are not a lot of high performance fully electric cars.
The company is definitely a top innovator in its industry. Furthermore, Tesla is planning to go beyond just producing electric cars and to make a real difference in the auto world. I’m pretty sure the company will be able to accomplish its mission. Why? Because Tesla follows their simple strategy:
- Build a sports car
- Use that money to build an affordable car
- Use that money to build an even more affordable car
- While doing above, also provide zero-emission electric-power generation options (http://www.teslamotors.com/fr_FR/node/3917)
There are many reasons that Tesla to succeed. First of all, it is evident that gas prices are rising. We can’t change the price on gas, but we can avoid it by driving a fully electric auto, like the Model S. Consumers are becoming increasingly more concerned with social responsibility by choosing green products. Green isn’t a fad or trend anymore; it’s now an entire economy and way of working. Electric cars are usually not the fastest cars and often, not the best looking. Tesla is different. Their focus on style and emotion is as strong as their focus on innovation and efficiency. Therefore, people who care about style will probably choose Tesla. Do you think Tesla will succeed in their journey?
With car companies like Tesla, where they are taking innovation to new levels with there fully electric sedan, makes me excited to see to how there work will change the worldly habits. Recently I got the privilege to sit in there new Model S and I must say its trendy, affordable, and great on mileage, and I think that taking risks like this will payoff in the long run for the company. Over all I find there strategy to be key to growing as a whole
I truly applause Tesla for their innovation and creative concept, however, it is difficult to see their success in the near future. Going green is great and it is the responsible thing for us to do, but there are many difficult challenges. Where are the charging stations, and who is going to pay for developing our infrastructure, the government or private companies? Also, Tesla’s definition of affordability is questionable; the model S is priced at 50-100K, the reason is that electric motor is considerably more expensive to produce than internal combustion engine. What about the cost of ownership? Until these challenges are resolved Tesla has a long tough journey ahead of them.
This post made me think about all the electric car makers out there, and there are not too many of them that are as advanced as Tesla is in their design, efficiency and overall performance. I definitely think that Tesla will be successful in the auto market. Nowadays people are not only concerned about saving money on gas, they are also concerned about being green and protecting the environment. The only critique that I would give Tesla would be that they should try to work on their pricing, because now they are simply overpriced for most people in US.