Why Tesla is Destroying its Competition

Survival of the Fittest After enjoying success at the beginning of the 20th century, the electric car began to lose its position in the automobile market. By the 1920s an improved road infrastructure required vehicles with a greater range than that offered by electric cars. Worldwide discoveries of large petroleum reserves led to the wide availability of affordable gasoline, making gas-powered cars cheaper to operate over long distances. Electric cars were limited to urban use by their slow speed (no more than 15–20 mph) and low range (30–40 miles), and gasoline cars were now able to travel farther and faster than equivalent electrics. Thomas Parker’s first electric car (1884)

Survival of the Fittest…again

I want to take a trip! It takes 10.44 hours to charge the Tesla out-of-the box with a standard 120V outlet 1:12 hours with a 240V outlet (like a dryer outlet) :30 with installed wall connector in your garage $750.00 The Charging Map Highway

Tesla’s Niche What exactly is Tesla’s advantage in the auto market? Considered large luxury, electric, hybrid,… Notoriety and entry barrier are large factors

What does a 740% gain over 1 year look like? TSLA price per share was $35 in January and closed Friday, November 14 at $258.68 Tesla’s current market cap as of today is 32.1B USD GM: 51.1B Ford: 58.3B Tesla, an 11 year old company, is valued at 63% of GM’s worth

Defining Mass Customization and potential issues How are these bought? Tesla’s vehicles are fully customizable for the customer based on their individual needs or wants Customers aren’t going to dealerships to pick one and drive away with it; Tesla provides an a la carte automobile with 0 emissions, long distance travel capability, and receives remote software updates (security issues with autopilot?) Fire concern: hitting high bumps creates battery impact. Batteries were reinforced with Titanium and ground clearance increased. Still, fire hazard is an extremely relatively small percentage of fire incidence when compared to gas-powered vehicles Lack of notoriety means the “guinea pig” owners run a high risk of problems When stolen, an iphone app provides GPS support including exact location and speed with an available “shutdown car” mode

Recent Development Tesla’s Model S was reviewed by Consumer Reports as its highest rated car….Ever. This is without being placed in a niche category and being considered only an automobile. 2013 Motor Trend Car of the Year Goal is to challenge Toyota and eliminate gas dependence

Future of Tesla Tesla needs to work on its direct advertisement despite plenty of positive publicity of Elon Musk’s image Working on a standardized charging station which will provide charging services for ALL automakers Speculation as to the integration of Solar City’s technology with Tesla providing solar collection to the vehicles Tesla has announced pricing for its Model S sedan in China and in a surprise has decided to match its U.S. price, with one caveat. The large-battery version of the car — which appears to be the only one headed for China — will start at 734,000 yuan, or around $121,000. $35,000 Model 3 will be 20% smaller; to debut in 2015 Tesla’s projections are easily kept track of. Customers pay $5000 of the total cost to customize and reserve their vehicles. This has assisted in overcoming the massive entry barrier in the auto industry, not to mention the strong support of high profile investors

Sources http://www.teslamotors.com/blog/tesla-approach-distributing-and-servicing-cars http://www.academia.edu/7563935/tesla_motors_startegic_analysis http://www.forbes.com/companies/tesla-motors/