Tesla Case

Analyze the alternative power car manufacturing industry at the time of the case. At the time of the case there were not many car manufacturers aggressively perusing the development of alternative power cars. Manufacturers may have felt that the alternative power car was a disruptive technology as it was expensive to develop and not in high demand from their current customers. The alternative car manufacturing industry was in its conceptual phase. Consumers were not confident in the alternative power car manufacturing technology and apprehensive to change from the traditional fuel car. Furthermore there were also concerns that alternative fuel cars do not have the distance capacity that the IC cars do, nor is the re-charge or re-fuel station infrastructure been set up. Manufacturers such as Ford / GM / BMW were still focused on growing the traditional market of IC cars. They did not invest heavily into developing alternative fuel cars or technology that would give them a first mover’s advantage. Traditional manufacturers did not see the potential of a blue ocean strategy; they did not realize that they could create a whole new market for electric cars. Electric vehicle technology was the best alternative fuel to petroleum or gas.
During 2011, the average household had more than three vehicles, not many if at all had a hybrid or EV car. This was in large part due to the fact that EV technology was so new / expensive and un-proven. Furthermore manufactures needed to develop the battery technology; this was by far the most expensive part of the EV. The Li-Ion battery was introduced in the 90’s and has been the adopted platform for all EV manufacturers; there have been talks of replacement technology. However to date the Li-Ion battery is still the standard choice with new variations and enhancements being released over time. Car manufacturers that entered into the alternate car power industry used their existing facilities and employees to manufacturer the new