Company

Tesla, the global leader of the electric car market

Situation

The case presents a panorama of the automotive industry before reviewing Tesla's company history in detail. In less than 20 years, Tesla went from selling just a few hundred electric cars to shipping over half a million cars in 2020. 

The case then reviews the moves of Tesla's competition, including not just traditional automakers, but also tech companies looking to enter the automotive business (like Google, Apple or Amazon), and new automotive startups, like Nio and Lucid. Given the increasing competition, would Tesla be able to continue leading the market through the 2020s? Or was it necessary to reevaluate the strategy?

Takeaways

Among other lessons by the end of the class students will have: 

• Debated the need to adjust and change a firm's strategy in accordance with changes in the external environment.
• Understood the key criteria for evaluating the appropriateness of a firm's strategy, including concepts such as external, internal and dynamic consistencies.
• Debated the relevance of an explicitly stated strategy and the role that a strong leader plays in it.

Audience

This case study can be taught in strategic management courses or modules aimed at undergraduate, MBA or executive education audiences.