Tesla Motors
Tesla Motors Elon Musk successfully established Tesla Motors as one of the leaders in the electric vehicle industry since his induction as CEO in 2008. Tesla Motors designs, manufactures, and sells electric cars and powertrain components. The company also provides services for the development of powertrain systems and components, and sells electric powertrain components to other automotive manufacturers. It markets and sells its vehicles through Tesla stores as well as over the internet (Mora 2014, 1). Consumers and companies are looking to save at the pump, and what better way to do so than with electric vehicles (Mora 2014, 1)? Through government support and raised capital, Musk has put Tesla in an advantageous position to capitalize on the growing electric vehicle market. Battery electric vehicles will increase at a 31.5% compound annual growth over the next seven years (Navigant Research 2013). With Musk’s leadership and innovation, Tesla plans on boosting sales by increasing current production of the Model S, introducing the Model X SUV in 2015, and introducing the more affordable Gen III by 2017 (Recharge Now, Forbes 2013). “Tesla has now crept onto the top ten list for brand perception, as ranked by Consumer Reports” (Ingram 2013, 1). Tesla is exceeding their own expectations as more consumers are becoming familiar with their company. In 2013, sales totaled to 22,450, while forecasts were set at 21,500 (Ohnsman). All of this success has resulted in Tesla’s stock rising nearly $100 this past year (Yahoo Finance 2014). With people increasingly worrying about the harmful effects of combustion engines on the environment and the limited supply of oil, the market for electric cars has a ton of potential. While there is tons of potential for Tesla, the truth is that they have yet to make an annual profit. Yes, they did raise their revenue from $413 million to $2 billion in the last year, but this still resulted in a net loss of $74 million (Yahoo Finance
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