Verified Document

The Generic And Grand Strategy Of Tesla Motors Essay

Generic Strategy The company that I have chosen is Tesla, and they focus on a differentiation strategy. Michael Porter outlined the grand strategies that a company can follow in order to compete effectively in the marketplace, as being differentiation or cost leadership, and these can be either at the niche or broad-based size levels (QuickMBA, 2010).

The differentiation strategy is defined as a strategy where the company seeks to compete on the basis of having a unique brand, product or product attributes. In that sense, Tesla has sought to have the best cars, to build its brand from the ground up as a premium brand, and employ a skimming strategy by targeting the high end buyer who will pay a premium for the best (Musk, 2006). There is ample evidence to support that this is the strategy for Tesla, beyond the fact that Elon Musk specifically wrote that in 2006.

First, in terms of product, Tesla's vehicles tend to receive rave reviews from critics, something that points to a premium product (Levin, 2015). The reviews have spurred sales of Tesla vehicles, to the point where there is now a waiting list to buy one. These are in-demand vehicles to the point where the company is having difficulty producing enough of them to meet demand (Tesla Annual Report). Furthermore, the vehicles are appointed with the sort of features and options that are typical of cars in the luxury category, and Tesla compares itself in advertising to the cost of ownership of conventional gasoline or diesel-based luxury vehicles. This sets the market, as determined by the company, as a mainstream market whereby Tesla competes for the luxury car buyer. That, by definition, is the differentiated market. Tesla is more differentiated than most, because it has a luxury brand, many unique features, is electric, and competes in part on the basis of industry-leading technology. Overall, there are many product attributes of Tesla that are simply not found in mainstream cars and would not point to anything other than positioning as a luxury vehicle. The price point, as well, is in line with other luxury vehicles.

While Tesla is...

Yet, this points to a strategy that is mainstream, rather than niche. Remember that Porter's generic strategies are also based on the size of the market that a company seeks. The luxury car market is divided into the mainstream luxury car market, which is the area where larger companies like Mercedes-Benz and BMW compete, or Lexus or Infiniti. But there are also many small production luxury automakers in the world as well. Some of these are brands for larger automakers, but ultimately, the production run size determines whether a car brand is niche or mainstream. Based on the number of vehicles it sells, and the relatively limited markets it serves, Tesla would normally be considered a niche player in the automobile market. It is one of the smaller producers of automobiles on the market today and its limited production means that it has a relatively small footprint of customers. Furthermore, Tesla is an electric car, which itself is a niche subset of the overall car market.
So why is Tesla not a niche automaker? Because we are talking about grand strategy. Grand strategy is how the company aims to compete over the long run, and the long run strategy for Tesla is not to pursue a niche market, but rather to be a mainstream player in the automobile business. The stated objective of the company is to transition transportation away from fossil fuel vehicles, not just for rich people, but for everybody (Musk, 2006). That points to a vision of a company much larger than the small production and niche market that Tesla current serves. If Tesla truly aims to sell its vehicles to the mass market, and is building towards that, then the company's grand strategy surely is not niche differentiation, but mainstream differentiated. Indeed, in 2017, Tesla aims to launch a car for the masses, to be produced in greater volume that its existing vehicles, and priced in the $30-40,000 range, where more average buyers can afford it. This product alone is an indication of the grand strategy that Tesla is…

Sources used in this document:
References

QuickMBA (2010). Porter's generic strategies. QuickMBA. Retrieved October 4, 2015 from http://www.quickmba.com/strategy/generic.shtml

Musk, E. (2006). The secret Tesla Motors master plan. Tesla Motors. Retrieved October 4, 2015 from http://www.teslamotors.com/blog/secret-tesla-motors-master-plan-just-between-you-and-me

Levin, D. (2015). A rave review for Tesla is under attack. Fortune Retrieved October 4, 2015 from http://fortune.com/2015/09/10/tesla-review-consumer-reports/

Tesla Motors Annual Report. Retrieved October 4, 2015 from http://ir.teslamotors.com/secfiling.cfm?filingid=1193125-14-69681&cik=
Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Tesla Motors Became a Public Traded Company,
Words: 643 Length: 2 Document Type: Essay

Tesla Motors became a public traded company, (NASDAQ stock quote code: TSLA), earlier this year. You are the Channels Manager for Tesla Motors. How do you think Tesla has developed its distribution strategy, i.e. what were the most important things to have been considered? With the launch of the model S. sedan due in 2012, how would you further develop the distribution strategy over the next five years, and why? Tesla

Tesla Motors Strategy
Words: 2991 Length: 9 Document Type: Essay

Tesla Motors has a cash flow problem, which makes it vulnerable to the many larger competitors who want into the electric vehicle business. The advantage Tesla has is with its battery technology, which is vastly superior to anybody else's, and in its brand name and leadership. The in-house distribution is unique to the industry but it might be too early to determine whether this is helping Tesla or hurting it.

Tesla Basic Info
Words: 608 Length: 2 Document Type: Case Study

Tesla Motors was founded in 2003 "by a group of engineers in Silicon Valley who wanted to prove that electric cars could be better than gasoline-powered cars." The company's first car, the Roadster, was launched in 2008 and the second car, the Model S, was launched in 2012. The company has been a major success since its inception, and while it still is not turning a profit, its revenues are

Tesla
Words: 3438 Length: 11 Document Type: Research Paper

Tesla Case Analysis General Environment/Industry Analysis The automobile industry is changing quickly with more and more competitors entering into the EV market. Jaguar is introducing its I-Pace, a premium EV with a base model price under $70k. Audi is introducing its E-Tron Quattro E-SUV this year and an E-Tron Sportback next year. Porsche is bringing its Mission E Cross as its second EV. Mercedes plans a 2018 EQC Electric SUV. And then

Tesla Motors Accounting Policies
Words: 1503 Length: 5 Document Type:

Summary There are certain aspects of Tesla' s business model that distinguish it from other automakers. These manifest either in its accounting policies, or in the ways in which those policies will affect Tesla (but maybe not its competitors, even if they utilize the same policies). The direct-to-consumer sales model in particular holds influence over some policies, while the company's youth handcuffs it with respect to how it handles things like

Tesla Motors Analysis
Words: 1365 Length: 4 Document Type: SWOT

SWOT Analysis: Tesla Motors Tesla Motors was founded in 2003 and it specializes in high-end electric vehicles. The company operates out of Palo Alto California and it has over 2000 employees. It was founded by Elon Musk who has prior success in SpaceX and PayPal. The company's goals is to accelerate the transition to electric mobility with a full range of increasingly Despite the fact that it has received loans from

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now