Tesla Motors, Inc.
Internal/External Analysis
September 18, 2013
Christian Brothers University
CMBA 605: Strategic Management
Matthew McKnight, Ryan Manning
Company Overview
Founded in 2003 Tesla Motors specializes in high-end electric vehicles. Tesla Motors
operates out of Palo Alto California and employs over 2000 people. Its CEO and
cofounder, Elon Musk, has seen prior success in PayPal and SpaceX. The Goal of Tesla
Motors is to “accelerate the transition to electric mobility with a full range of increasingly
affordable electric cars.” (“About Tesla,” 2013).
SWOT ANALYSIS
Strengths
Elon Musk is known for leading innovation. Sometimes compared to Steve Jobs for his
command of entrepreneurial spirit and innovation, Elon Musk has been integral to the
development and success of PayPal and SpaceX (Currie, 2013). Tesla is a continuation of
this innovative spirit and shares many of the same strengths and attributes that its founder
instilled in his other companies. In many ways Tesla may seem similar to an earlier version
of Apple. Though the product line of Tesla may be quite different from Apple, they share
many of the same strengths in regards to their respective markets. Tesla’s strengths include
but are not limited to its innovative technology and business model driven by a large R&D
pipeline, a technical mastery of electronic motors and associated components, employee
skills, and a company culture centered on technological innovation and excellence.
The first of Tesla Motors strengths is in its R&D department and technical mastery of
electronic motors and associated components. It could be argued that the biggest strength
of Tesla is its ability to output new technology. Tesla’s most important technological
breakthrough is its electric power train. As one of its core competencies, Tesla develops
and sells power train components to third parties such as Toyota and Daimler. In addition
to developing a robust powertrain Tesla also specializes in electric car engineering (Tesla
Motors, Inc., 2013). Tesla wanted their electric vehicle to be as efficient as possible and
had to develop new systems to be compatible with their electric powertrain. This design
constraint led to the development and innovation of several unique technological features
in addition to making their powertrain modular to adapt to a variety of applications, Tesla
has engineered a complete battery pack system, unique motor and gearbox designs, and
has redesigned systems such as heating and air-conditioning. In developing all this
innovative technology, Tesla has established itself as a strong base in research,
