Cart

  • SUGGESTED TOPICS
  • The Magazine
  • Newsletters
  • Managing Yourself
  • Managing Teams
  • Work-life Balance
  • The Big Idea
  • Data & Visuals
  • Reading Lists
  • Case Selections
  • HBR Learning
  • Topic Feeds
  • Account Settings
  • Email Preferences

Lessons from Tesla’s Approach to Innovation

  • Nathan Furr

tesla project management case study

There is a method to the madness.

Tesla has shifted the auto industry toward electric vehicles, achieved consistently growing revenues, and at the start of 2020 was the highest-performing automaker in terms of total return, sales growth, and long-term shareholder value. As a technology and innovation scholar, the author has studied how innovators commercialize new technologies and found that Tesla’s strategy offers enduring lessons for any innovator, especially in terms of how to win support for an idea and how to bring new technologies to market. To understand Tesla’s strategy, one must separate its two primary pillars: headline-grabbing moves like launching the Cybertruck or the Roadster 2.0 and the big bets it is making on its core vehicles, the models S, X, 3, and Y.

Few companies have attracted as much scorn and adoration as Tesla. When Tesla launches a product like the Cybertruck, the reception tends to be divisive: Critics see it as further evidence that founder Elon Musk is out of touch and doomed to fail, while supporters buy in — within a month Tesla received 200,000 preorders for the new vehicle. Compare that with the Ford-150, the world’s best-selling car in 2018, which sold just over 1 million vehicles that year.

tesla project management case study

  • Nathan Furr is a Professor of Strategy at INSEAD and a coauthor of five best-selling books, including The Upside of Uncertainty, The Innovator’s Method, Leading Transformation, Innovation Cap i tal , and Nail It then Scale It .
  • Jeff Dyer is the Horace Beesley Professor of Strategy at BYU’s Marriott School of Management. He is the lead author of the best-selling book, The Innovator’s DNA , and coauthor of The Innovator’s Method .

Partner Center

Tesla Change Management Case Study

From smartphones to self-driving cars, technology is constantly changing and evolving the way we interact with the world. 

Tesla is a company that has become synonymous with innovation and disruption in the automotive industry.

Over the years, Tesla has undergone significant organisational changes and implemented effective change management strategies to drive growth and success.

From transitioning to electric cars to expanding into energy storage and solar power, Tesla’s approach to change management has been key to its ability to stay ahead of the curve and maintain a devoted fanbase.

Tesla change management case study examines Tesla’s approach and strategies that have enabled the company to successfully navigate organizational change and achieve long-term success.

So, buckle up and get ready to explore the exciting insights about Tesla’s change management.

Brief introduction to Tesla and its importance in the automotive industry

Tesla is an American electric vehicle and clean energy company founded in 2003 by Elon Musk. The company has quickly become a major player in the automotive industry, revolutionizing the market with its innovative approach to electric cars and sustainable energy.

Tesla’s mission is to accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy, and it has made significant strides in this regard.

Its electric cars, such as the Model S, Model 3, and Model X, are known for their long-range capabilities, cutting-edge technology, and sleek designs.

Additionally, Tesla is also heavily invested in renewable energy, with products such as solar panels and the Powerwall battery system for homes.

With its commitment to sustainable energy and cutting-edge technology, Tesla has cemented its place as a leader in the automotive industry and a driving force behind the shift towards a more sustainable future.

Need for change management at Tesla

Tesla’s shift from traditional gasoline-powered cars to electric cars was a significant change in the automotive industry. The company recognized early on that electric cars were the future and set out to develop a range of electric cars that would compete with traditional gasoline-powered cars in terms of performance, range, and price.

Tesla’s rapid growth and success can be attributed to its innovative approach to change management.

Change management is the process of implementing changes in an organization in a structured and efficient manner to minimize disruptions and ensure a smooth transition.

Tesla has had to implement several significant changes over the years, including shifting from traditional gasoline-powered cars to electric cars, expanding its product line to include energy storage and solar power, and maintaining a cult-like following of dedicated fans.

Change management approach used by Tesla

Tesla’s change management approach is centered around its mission to accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy.

The company approaches change with a long-term vision, focused on innovation and disruption rather than simply reacting to market trends.

Tesla’s change management strategy is built on several key principles, including:

1. Clear communication

Tesla’s leadership is committed to clear and transparent communication with employees, shareholders, and customers. This includes regular updates on company strategy, product development, and progress towards sustainability goals.

Tesla has a clear and well-communicated strategy for each change, including a detailed plan for implementation and execution. 

One example of Tesla’s communication strategy is its use of social media to engage with customers and fans. Tesla has a strong presence on social media platforms such as Twitter and Instagram, where it shares news, updates, and behind-the-scenes glimpses of the company’s operations.

Tesla’s CEO, Elon Musk, is also known for his active presence on social media, where he communicates directly with customers and fans and responds to their feedback and concerns. Musk’s personal Twitter account has millions of followers, and he often uses the platform to announce new products, share updates on the company’s operations, and engage with fans.

2. Data-driven decision-making

Tesla heavily relies on data to inform its decision-making processes, including product development, production processes, and marketing strategies. This means that the company is able to make informed decisions based on real-time information, rather than relying on guesswork or intuition.

When implementing changes within the organization, Tesla uses data to inform decision making, monitor progress, and identify areas for improvement. For example, when transitioning from gasoline-powered cars to electric cars, Tesla used data on consumer preferences, energy consumption patterns, and market trends to inform its product development and marketing strategies.

Tesla also uses data to monitor the success of its change management efforts. For instance, when introducing a new product or service, Tesla collects and analyzes data on customer adoption rates, usage patterns, and feedback to determine whether the change has been successful or needs further refinement.

3. Agile methodology

Tesla uses an agile approach to product development and project management, which allows for flexibility and quick adaptation to changing market conditions. Tesla has a strong culture of innovation and creativity, which allows it to develop and implement changes quickly and efficiently.

The company encourages employees to think outside the box and experiment with new ideas, which has led to several game-changing innovations such as the electric powertrain and the autonomous driving system

4. Employee empowerment

Tesla values its employees and believes in empowering them to contribute to the company’s success. This includes encouraging innovation, creativity, and collaboration, as well as providing opportunities for growth and development.

Tesla empowers its employees by providing them with opportunities to take on leadership roles, make decisions, and contribute to the company’s success. For example, Tesla’s production line workers are trained to identify and address potential production issues, giving them a sense of ownership and responsibility over the manufacturing process.

Additionally, Tesla encourages employees to speak up and share their ideas and feedback. The company has an open-door policy, which means that employees can approach their managers or executives with any concerns, suggestions, or feedback they may have.

Tesla also has a “no titles” policy, which means that employees are not restricted by traditional job titles or hierarchies. Instead, employees are encouraged to take on responsibilities and projects that align with their strengths and interests, giving them a sense of autonomy and ownership over their work.

5. Sustainability focus

Sustainability is at the core of Tesla’s change management strategy, with a focus on developing products and processes that are environmentally friendly and socially responsible.

Tesla has invested heavily in solar energy, with the acquisition of SolarCity, a company that produces solar panels for residential and commercial use. Tesla’s solar panels are designed to be efficient, durable, and sustainable, with a focus on reducing carbon emissions and promoting renewable energy.

In addition, Tesla’s electric vehicles are designed to be sustainable and environmentally friendly. By replacing traditional gasoline-powered cars with electric vehicles, Tesla is reducing carbon emissions and promoting sustainability in the transportation industry.

Furthermore, Tesla has made a commitment to reducing its own carbon footprint. The company has set ambitious goals to reduce its own greenhouse gas emissions, with a target of net-zero emissions by 2050. Tesla is working to achieve this goal by investing in renewable energy, improving production efficiency, and reducing waste.

6. Innovation and R&D

Innovation and research and development (R&D) are integral components of Tesla’s change management approach. The company places a strong emphasis on innovation to stay ahead of the competition and disrupt traditional industries.

One example of Tesla’s innovation and R&D efforts is the development of its Autopilot system, which uses advanced artificial intelligence and machine learning to enable self-driving capabilities in Tesla vehicles. Tesla’s Autopilot system has been a major differentiator for the company, and has helped to position Tesla as a leader in the autonomous vehicle market.

Tesla’s approach to innovation and R&D is characterized by its willingness to take risks and invest in new technologies. The company has made significant investments in battery technology, solar energy, and artificial intelligence, among other areas.

For instance, Tesla’s Gigafactory in Nevada is one of the largest battery production facilities in the world, with the capacity to produce over 35 GWh of lithium-ion batteries annually. Tesla’s investment in battery technology has helped to reduce the cost and increase the efficiency of its electric vehicles, making them more accessible and appealing to consumers.

Additionally, Tesla’s research and development efforts extend beyond its products and services. The company is also working on developing new technologies to improve its production processes and supply chain management, such as the use of automation and robotics.

7. Strategic acquisitions

Tesla has acquired several companies to help it expand into new areas, such as energy storage and solar power. One example of Tesla’s strategic acquisition is its purchase of SolarCity in 2016, a leading provider of solar energy solutions. The acquisition was a key part of Tesla’s strategy to expand into the renewable energy market and establish itself as a leader in sustainable energy solutions.

By acquiring SolarCity, Tesla was able to integrate solar energy technology into its product line and offer a more complete suite of energy solutions to its customers. This acquisition also allowed Tesla to leverage SolarCity’s extensive network of installers and service providers, which helped to accelerate the growth of Tesla’s energy business.

Another example of Tesla’s strategic acquisition is its purchase of Maxwell Technologies in 2019, a company that specializes in developing energy storage solutions. The acquisition was part of Tesla’s strategy to improve the performance and efficiency of its battery technology, and to reduce the cost of producing batteries for its electric vehicles.

By acquiring Maxwell Technologies, Tesla was able to integrate its patented ultra-capacitor technology into its battery production process, which helped to increase the energy density and lifespan of its batteries. This acquisition also allowed Tesla to streamline its battery production process and reduce its overall production costs, which helped to make its electric vehicles more affordable and accessible to consumers.

Tesla’s Cult-Like Following 

Tesla’s devoted fanbase, often referred to as “Tesla cultists,” has played a significant role in the company’s success. These fans are passionate about Tesla and its products, and their enthusiasm has helped to generate buzz and excitement around the brand.

To maintain this cult-like following, Tesla has used a range of change management strategies. These strategies include:

  • Building a strong brand: Tesla has built a strong brand that resonates with its fans. The company’s focus on sustainability, innovation, and performance has helped to create a unique identity that sets it apart from other car companies.
  • Creating a community: Tesla has created a community of fans who share a common passion for the brand. This community includes Tesla owners, fans, and investors, and the company has fostered this community through events, social media, and other channels.
  • Continuous innovation: Tesla’s fans are attracted to the company’s constant innovation and its ability to push the boundaries of what is possible in the automotive industry. Tesla has used change management to maintain this innovation by investing in research and development, encouraging experimentation and creativity, and continuously improving its products based on customer feedback.
  • Exceptional customer service: Tesla is known for its exceptional customer service, which includes personalized attention, customization options, and a focus on customer satisfaction. This has helped to create a loyal customer base that is willing to promote the brand to others.

Key takeaways for other companies looking to implement successful change management strategies

Tesla change management case study offers some key takeaways for other companies looking to implement successful change management strategies:

  • Communicate clearly and consistently: It’s essential to communicate your vision and goals for the change clearly and consistently to build trust and credibility with stakeholders.
  • Empower employees: Empowering employees to contribute to the change process can help to generate ideas and solutions, foster a culture of innovation, and create a sense of ownership.
  • Focus on the customer: A customer-focused approach that prioritizes exceptional customer service, customization, and continuous improvement based on customer feedback can create a loyal customer base and drive sales.
  • Build a strong brand: Developing a unique identity that resonates with your customers and sets you apart from competitors can help to create a loyal fanbase and generate buzz around your brand.
  • Embrace innovation: Embracing innovation and encouraging experimentation and creativity can help to drive change and keep your brand fresh and exciting.

Final Words 

Tesla change management case study offers insights that how Tesla successfully applied change management strategies and have become one the leading world company. The company has successfully navigated significant shifts in its business model, from transitioning to electric cars to expanding into energy storage and solar power. Tesla has also maintained a devoted fanbase through a range of change management strategies, including building a strong brand, creating a community, embracing innovation, and focusing on exceptional customer service.

About The Author

' src=

Tahir Abbas

Related posts.

Identifying the need for change in an organization

Identifying the Need for Change in an Organization – Explained

10 Ways of Managing a Team Through Change

10 Ways of Managing a Team Through Change – Explained

Knowledge Management and Change Management

The Interplay Between Knowledge Management and Change Management

Customer Logins

Obtain the data you need to make the most informed decisions by accessing our extensive portfolio of information, analytics, and expertise. Sign in to the product or service center of your choice.

logo

Trending Topics

  • Look Forward: Multidimensional Transition
  • Look Forward: Supply Chain 2024
  • AI in Banking: AI Will Be An Incremental Game Changer
  • The Return of Energy Security
  • The AI Governance Challenge
  • India's Future: The Quest for High and Stable Growth

Offerings by Division

  • S&P Global Market Intelligence
  • S&P Global Ratings
  • S&P Global Commodity Insights
  • S&P Dow Jones Indices
  • S&P Global Mobility
  • S&P Global Sustainable1

S&P Global Offerings

Featured Topics

Featured Products

market-intelligence

  • Market Intelligence

ratings

  • Commodity Insights

dow-jones-indices

  • Sustainable1

capital-iq-pro

S&P Capital IQ Pro

platts-connect

Platts Connect

esg-scores

S&P Global ESG Scores

autocreditinsight

AutoCreditInsight

ratings360

SPICE: The Index Source for ESG Data

  • S&P Global Home

logo

  • Explore S&P Global

Forecasting & Planning

Sales Performance & Marketing

Vehicle In Use

  • Our Experts
  • Research and insights

Tesla Motors: A case study in disruptive innovation

Contributor Image

Senior Director, Cost Benchmarking Services, IHS Markit

Contributor Image

Associate Director, AutoIntelligence, S&P Global Mobility

Tesla Motors broke the mold. Then reinvented it. Not only did Tesla Chief Executive and Chief Product Architect Elon Musk demonstrate that convention could be defied, he did it in an industry with 100-year-old traditions, norms, and processes. Of course, the auto industry has innovated in the past, but Tesla, which was founded in 2003, has pushed the envelope beyond what most automakers thought possible. The company's Silicon Valley-style "techpreneurship" enabled it to move faster, work more efficiently, and create groundbreaking new ideas around sustainable mobility and automotive technology.

After all, this is Musk's modus operandi. In 1998, he disrupted e-commerce by creating a widely deployable and secure payment platform called PayPal. And in 2002, he launched SpaceX, a company that designs, manufactures, and launches rockets and spacecraft. The company's goal is to enable people to live on other planets. Musk, himself, wants to "die on Mars" and wholeheartedly believes it will be possible.

He is also a lightning rod in the debate around mass transit with an idea some critics refer to as vaporware. Dubbed Hyperloop, Musk's idea is to create a high-speed transportation system that is immune to weather, impossible to crash, uses little energy and recaptures most of what it uses, and travels twice the speed of today's commercial aircraft. He believes the concept could move people from Los Angeles to San Francisco in just 35 minutes. Oddly, he has no interest in making the Hyperloop a reality but, rather, is putting his ideas out there for others to take and improve the human experience.

With Tesla, Musk is focused on disrupting mobility. As of mid-June 2014, the company has released all of its patent holdings, claiming that open-source innovation is more powerful than anything one company could do individually. While IP lawyers cringed, Wall Street applauded, sending Tesla's stock price up 14% to $231 a share. This radical approach to innovation runs deep, as evidenced in the technology and design approach of the company's flagship Model S, its $69,900 luxury car.

In August 2014, the IHS Technology Teardown Team purchased a used 2013 Model S and took it apart to see what made it tick. The team dismantled 12 systems and cataloged every part within each system. The teardown included both the electronics systems inside the car's interior and the drivetrain (see sidebar "What's inside the Model S?").

Technical differences

The teardown confirmed that the Tesla Model S is unlike anything else on the road. A massive plot of real estate in the center stack is dedicated to a 17-inch touch screen infotainment system, which became—since its production launch in 2011—an instant industry benchmark for automotive display integration. There is room left for only two physical buttons on the console—one for the hazard lights and one for the glove compartment release (see sidebar below).

The technical specifications are impressive. The 17-inch screen is a Chi Mei Optoelectronics display with 1920 x 1200 WVGA resolution that includes a projected capacitive touch screen—the same technology employed in many smartphones and tablets. The system runs on a Linux-based operating system, offers Garmin navigation with Google Earth overlays, and computes at speeds still besting most other systems available today with its NVIDIA Tegra 3 processor combined with 2 GB of DDR3 SDRAM.

The system includes an embedded 3G modem from Sierra Wireless that runs broadband data off AT&T's network. It can receive software updates over the air and controls all of the functions of infotainment, audio, navigation, Bluetooth phone, HVAC, and even vehicle settings like windows, door locks, sunroof, trunk release, traction control, headlights, steering, and suspension settings.

In addition, a 12.3-inch fully digital instrument cluster sits directly in front of the driver with its own NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor, which it uses to handle the diverse array of graphics, content, and redundant outputs for the driver. About the only "familiar" driver components are the steering wheel, pedals, and transmission shifter—the latter actually borrowed from the Mercedes-Benz parts bin.

Manufacturing differences

The system is clearly in a class of its own. However, with all of these high-end specifications, how can Tesla sell this as a standard feature in every Model S? More disruption.

The company chose to change up the supply chain and borrow from the electronic manufacturing services (EMS) model of production that is standard practice in the consumer electronics industry. In this respect, Tesla is closer to being a technology company than a traditional automobile maker. Much like how Apple designs the iPhone and then employs Foxconn to build it, Tesla contracted with a leading EMS provider to build its center infotainment system, instrument cluster, and several other systems in the Model S. This model required Tesla to internalize much of the hardware and software development, as well as the systems integration work. Given that Tesla has hired its engineers from all over Silicon Valley and beyond, this was not a problem.

The Silicon Valley culture and the EMS approach to manufacturing were a clear advantage for Tesla at one time but no longer make it unique. The EMS model is expanding in the automotive industry, and the likes of Compal, Flextronics, Foxconn, and Jabil are working with brands including Chrysler, Daimler, Ford, General Motors (GM), Jaguar, and Volkswagen.

However, the transition to the EMS model can be problematic. Ford outsourced the entire infotainment architecture for the development and deployment of MyFord Touch in 2011 to an EMS provider. The initial system had technical software problems that required Ford to issue several software upgrades. This cost tens of millions of dollars, contributed to a poor customer experience, and caused perception problems for Ford, from which the company has only recently recovered.

Development differences

In the last decade, virtually every automaker has relocated portions of vehicle and vehicle technology development to new R&D facilities in the San Francisco-to-San Jose tech corridor. In fact, some early innovators predate Tesla: BMW, Daimler, and Volkswagen set up shop in the Valley in the mid-1990s, and Honda opened its first office in 2003, the same year Tesla was founded.

The reasons for doing so now go beyond manufacturing. Automotive OEMs are co-locating with the likes of Apple, Cisco, Facebook, Google, HP, Intel, NVIDIA, and Oracle to help speed the pace of innovation. This involves accelerating the pace of hardware, software, services, and applications development but also rethinking the process of design.

The development speed of a typical mobile device is often six months or less. Compare that with the design-to-production timing for a new vehicle of approximately four years and it's no wonder car-buying consumers have been underwhelmed by standard in-vehicle electronics. Even today, consumers can find navigation and infotainment systems designed in 2008 for sale in model-year (MY) 2014 vehicles. To give an idea of how ancient that is in "tech-years," BlackBerry held more than 50% market share among smartphone users in 2008. Remember BlackBerry?

Tesla has had a competitive advantage over auto industry rivals in design innovation since day one. Located in arguably the center of the world for technological innovation, Tesla was able not only to construct its vision of mobility in Silicon Valley, but also recruit its employees from many of the leading technology companies to design and build the car there as well. All other OEMs grasping for automotive technology leadership had to learn the culture of Silicon Valley, figure out how to adapt to it, and dissolve the century-old "way of doing things." Tesla was born into it.

Service differences

With Tesla's technology come some very important services. Perhaps at the top of the list is the convenience of over-the-air (OTA) software updates for vehicle recalls, which Tesla has made free and standard for Model S owners. This functionality has, in turn, created plenty of positive press for the company.

It all starts with the connection. The 3G connection in the Tesla infotainment system is already providing this solution via relatively old wireless technology. Since the modular and flexible hardware architecture of its infotainment system allows for mid-cycle technology enhancements, IHS expects Tesla will soon debut true 4G LTE connectivity in its vehicles. The added bandwidth will further enhance the OTA update service, as well as the rest of the services the Model S offers.

IHS forecasts a 60% global penetration rate on embedded cellular connections in cars by 2022, with 4G LTE bandwidth comprising roughly 60% of that market. GM and Audi have actually beaten Tesla to market on this specification as both OEMs already have 4G LTE cars on the road now.

One central purpose of this mass-market vehicle broadband adoption is to accommodate FOTA (firmware over the air) and SOTA (software over the air). Tesla has already deployed this function in part because it allows the company to provide vehicle service without needing to charge (or possibly pay) for service bay labor.

Consider Tesla's recall of the Model S for overheating charger plugs in January 2014. The day the recall notice came out, Tesla had all 29,222 Model S vehicles updated wirelessly and running the new safer version of the software. Ironically, around the same time, GM had a similar fire-related safety recall issued that also required a software update. Despite all of its vehicles having standard OnStar telematics, owners were required to take their cars into a dealership for the software update, costing GM a warranty labor expense on all 370,000 recall service appointments.

While far from a sure thing, nanotechnology offers significant business opportunities for companies willing and able to take the long view. One avenue is to identify a sizable opportunity in an existing market where a nanotech product can displace an existing inferior solution, e.g., a coating for an automobile that keeps itself clean, clears mist from side mirrors, or self-repairs scratches in the automotive paint.

Volume aside, Tesla paid much less on a per-vehicle basis than GM, simply by providing a software update procedure that has been on personal computers for more than two decades and mobile phones since before the BlackBerry.

IHS sees the OTA software trend continuing strongly. With vehicles like the new Mercedes-Benz S-Class claimed to have over 65 million lines of code—10 times that of the Boeing 767 Dreamliner—the automotive industry stands at a crossroads. Software recalls are about to become a major problem, one that will be expensive if this type of technology is not broadly deployed.

As of February 2014, over 530 software-related recalls had been reported since 1994 (see figure below). Among these, 75, or 14%, were issued for MY 2007 alone, with over 2.4 million vehicles affected. Numerous questions arise from the variation in volume by model year—not the least of which is, why have recalls for MY 2007 been so numerous? There are likely several reasons for this spike:

MY 2007 had the last large-sales volume before the economic recession plunged US car purchases from approximately 16 million to 10 million in 2010.

Many new electronics systems were added in MY 2007 for infotainment, advanced driver assistance systems, and core auto control systems, which increased the amount of software in the typical car.

MY 2007 involved recalls of 75 vehicles, the most of any model year. Many automotive OEMs had multiple model recalls with software updates. Toyota had especially high recall rates that included software updates.

It is in this context that IHS expects FOTA and SOTA to be enabled in over 22 million vehicles sold worldwide in 2020 alone, growing from approximately 200,000 vehicles in 2015. Major deployment will begin in 2017. In the meantime, Tesla will continue to leverage its first-to-market status with FOTA and SOTA to help lower overall costs to the end user and improve unit margins on each additional Model S sold.

Powertrain differences

The heart of Tesla's Model S is its electric propulsion system, which includes a battery, motor, drive inverter, and gearbox. The battery is a microprocessor-controlled lithium-ion unit available in two sizes; spending more buys more range and more power. The induction motor is a three-phase, four-pole AC unit with copper rotor. The drive inverter has variable-frequency drive and regenerative braking system, while the gearbox is a single-speed fixed gear with a 9.73:1 reduction ratio. The battery of each Model S is charged with a high-current power inlet, and each vehicle comes with a single 10kW charger and mobile connector with adapters for 110-volt and 240-volt outlets as well as a public charging station adapter.

This powertrain package allows Tesla to deliver a longer driving range than any other EV maker—about 200 miles versus just under 100—plus acceleration and driving performance similar to or better than a traditional gasoline-powered vehicle. While several automakers offer EV powertrains—Nissan's Leaf and Chevrolet's Volt, for example—none matches Tesla's commitment to EV development. And as a clean slate company, Tesla has had the advantage of developing an entirely new powertrain and supply chain without the hindrance of existing dealerships, physical plants, or inventory.

Other EV products use lithium-ion batteries, but in lower kWh and using fewer, but larger, battery cells. For example, the Nissan Leaf uses a 24kWh battery, with 192 cells and EPA-estimated range of 84 miles. The Model S' 85kWh battery has more than 7,100 cells, allowing it to move greater weight faster and with longer range.

To address range anxiety, Tesla has made a significant investment developing charging stations in the US (112 to date, according to the Tesla website), Europe (63), and Asia (17). These supercharger stations can swap out the battery in less time than it takes to fill a tank of gas. Owners must come back and swap again for their original battery. Nonetheless, this helps alleviate drivers' worries about becoming stranded on long trips.

Tesla is working to drive battery costs down in anticipation of the launch of its mass-market, $35,000 Model 3 EV sedan, which is slated to debut in 2017. To that end, the company recently announced a new $5 billion "gigafactory" battery plant in Nevada in partnership with Panasonic. It will reportedly handle all elements of battery cell production, from raw material to battery pack, rather than only battery pack assembly. And Tesla intends to sell its OEM batteries for non-automotive applications, which will enable it to increase production volume and reduce unit cost.

What does the future hold?

  • Created a fun-to-drive electric roadster. Check.
  • Leveraged the lessons to scale-up to a full-luxury sedan. Check.
  • Disrupted the luxury car market and, according to IHS Automotive data, attracted "conquest" buyers from the likes of BMW, Mercedes, and Lexus, not to mention Toyota and other volume brands. Check.
  • Diverged from entrenched supply chains to develop technology in-house and lowered per-unit development costs for an industry-leading infotainment platform. Check.
  • Addressed a software-related vehicle safety recall in one day for almost 30,000 cars. Check
  • Created a company destined to influence the industry as a whole and did so while pleasing Wall Street. Check.

Tesla has established benchmarks for infotainment system hardware, software flexibility, and manufacturing supply chain. The company innovated powertrain design, which has proven both robust and viable for everyday use. And it has received plenty of accolades for aesthetic design from the automotive media. The result is that "made in Silicon Valley" is no longer roundly dismissed as an option for an automotive OEM.

So what's next for Tesla? How does it maintain its leadership in technology development? Has it created a sustainable competitive advantage? Can it deliver on promises of a new luxury crossover with the Model X and a new high-volume EV competitor with the Model 3? Will Tesla be able to steal market share from not only luxury marques, but also from higher-volume brands?

Going forward, Tesla faces five distinct challenges:

Consumer demand. Perhaps the most significant is consumer acceptance of electric vehicles. In the first eight months of 2014, EVs accounted for only 0.7% of the 11.2 million light-vehicle sales in the US. Even Renault-Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn, a staunch supporter of EVs, last year acknowledged Renault-Nissan would miss its original 2016 target of selling 1.5 million EVs by four to five years.

Dealerships and service. Today, Tesla's direct-sales model is illegal in most US states. As Tesla attempts to go mainstream, it will need the legal restrictions lifted or be forced to adjust its model. Further, as vehicles age and the numbers sold increase, there will be maintenance issues that cannot be handled by OTA software updates. Tesla will need to build out an after-sales service network that is robust enough to handle the demand.

Marketing. To date, demand for the Model S exceeds supply. But as the company targets the mass market with the Model 3 and aims for 500,000 units sold in 2020, it will need to beef up its marketing. Tesla's Apple Genius-bar-inspired dealership model has worked for the affluent early adopters, but can it be scaled up to meet its sales targets?

According to IHS registration data, 51.8% of all Tesla buyers have annual household incomes over $150,000. By comparison, the percentage of Chevrolet Malibu buyers with a household income higher than $150,000 is only 6.5%. Tesla will need to create a marketing strategy that targets economy-car consumers, who are notably different than those who buy the $80,000 to $100,000 Model S.

Production Boosting output will likely mean growing pains for Tesla as it transitions to a high-volume production model. How the company manages the transition will determine Tesla's near-term future. Of course, many automakers have had difficulties ramping up new plants or launches and yet overcome the challenges in the longer term. While growing pains are to be expected, there is no reason to believe Tesla does not have the capacity to become a volume manufacturer.

Innovation. Tesla has already made a name for itself around technology adoption and innovation. But it will be challenged, as all first movers are, to maintain that lead and continue to push the boundaries with future products. Assuming the gigafactory and its supply chain allow Tesla to make a mass-market offering and keep its infotainment stack as an industry benchmark, the company's next move will be automated driving. Musk has already stated that Tesla will "hit the market" by 2017 with a partially self-driving vehicle. With many other OEMs targeting this time frame as well, Tesla might not be as disruptive in automated driving as it has been in infotainment design and sustainable mobility

But then again, it might surprise the market and break loose another game-changing product or technology before the rest of the automotive industry is ready—because that's how Silicon Valley works.

Tesla's user-experience focus sets it apart

We live in an era of smartphone ubiquity. So we are routinely disappointed when we get into our cars and are forced to make do with resistive touch screens (if we are lucky) or LEDs and vacuum fluorescent displays controlled by dials and buttons (if we are not). Tesla understands the importance of smartphone ubiquity to modern life, so it's no accident the transition is seamless when one climbs into a Model S

That is not the case with the majority of comparably priced vehicles from other auto manufacturers. Indeed, many of the recent automotive infotainment systems that the IHS Teardown Team has analyzed feature relatively small displays (typically 7-inch diagonal size or less) and low resolution (typically 800 x 480 WVGA or less).

Then there's the touch technology. Many of the touch screens IHS tears down in automotive head units are using resistive technology. Combine these legacy technologies with often underpowered processing chips and proprietary software and you often end up with a user experience that is unfamiliar, not intuitive, and has a lot of "latency" issues (meaning it's slow).

At the center of the dashboard in the 2013 Model S is the Tesla Premium Media Control Unit, which blows away all of the head units we have seen in specs, not to mention sheer size. The 17-inch diagonal display with touch screen makes for a very large assembly when removed from the dash. Inside the unit are many subassemblies, which are all modular, giving Tesla numerous design options for future models.

Several of the printed circuit board (PCB) assemblies, including the main assembly, feature Tesla Motors logos and copyrights, meaning that they are all designed and controlled by Tesla. In and of itself, this is unusual, as we find that most automotive OEMs entrust and outsource the bulk of their head unit designs to third parties such as Harman

Automotive, Panasonic, Alpine, Denso, Pioneer, and others. Tesla is thus designing and controlling the bill of materials down to the component level. This is closer to Apple's design-and-build model than it is to other automakers.

Such an approach affords Tesla leverage in the supply chain, more direct control over the finished product, and ultimately more control over the user experience. It also gives Tesla a potential performance and technology edge that others might find difficult to quickly emulate, as so much of the design is done in-house at Tesla rather than by the head unit suppliers.

Many other PCB assemblies are modular and come from third parties, such as the processing PCB, which is a turnkey solution from NVIDIA, and the air interface module, which is from Sierra Wireless.

All told, there are 10 PCB assemblies in Tesla's media control unit. The modularity of this design is not unusual for automotive electronic systems and allows Tesla many options. If Tesla wants to upgrade the processing power or change the air interface module, it may be possible to achieve this more easily and with less redesign than if all of the functions were integrated into fewer PCB assemblies. In this sense, modularity of design, rather than aggressive integration, has always been an automotive electronic standard. Not only does modularity give automotive designers many upgrade options, it improves reparability.

The center console of the Tesla Model S is dominated by a 17-inch touch screen infotainment system, which is an industry benchmark for automotive display integration.

What's inside the Model S?

In August 2014, IHS bought a second-hand 2013 Tesla Model S. The Los Angeles-based IHS Technology Teardown Team set to work pulling it apart to examine all primary systems inside the car. The team has cataloged every component and developed a detailed bill of materials for each system that includes the technical specifications, cost, and manufacturers of the components. In addition, the team estimated the labor and manufacturing cost of each system.

The 12 systems analyzed by the IHS Teardown Team comprised the following:

  • Premium Media Control Unit
  • Instrument Cluster
  • EV Inlet Assembly
  • High-Voltage Junction Box
  • Battery Charger
  • Thermal Controller
  • Liftgate Left Hand Taillight
  • Power Liftgate Module
  • Body Control Unit
  • Sunroof Control Unit
  • Passive Safety Restraints Control Module

Mark Boyadjis, Senior Analyst, Infotainment and Human-machine Interface, IHS Automotive Andrew Rassweiler, Senior Director, Teardown Services, IHS Technology Stephanie Brinley, Senior Analyst, Americas, IHS Automotive Posted 7 October 2014

Keep yourself updated with the latest news of automotive and mobility industry featured on our Mobility News and Assets Community page to stay ahead of your competition.

Fuel for Thought: Average age of vehicles in the US hits new record

May US auto sales to progress mildly

BriefCASE: The game of tariffs - US moves to stifle EV battery imports from mainland China

  • Our Purpose
  • Our History
  • Investor Relations
  • News Releases
  • Quarterly Earnings
  • SEC Filings & Reports
  • Customer Care & Sales
  • Support by Division
  • Report an Ethics Concern
  • Office Locations
  • Our Organization
  • Corporate Responsibility
  • IOSCO ESG Rating & Data Product Statements
  • Polk Privacy Statement
  • Terms of Use
  • Cookie Notice
  • Privacy Policy
  • Client Privacy Portal
  • Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information

© 2024 S&P Global

CleanTechnica

Tesla Has Applied Agile Software Development To Automotive Manufacturing

tesla project management case study

Software development used to be a long, drawn-out process, with teams of workers spending years if not decades to develop the next generation of the next big thing. Enterprise tech teams were structured around these longer timelines and threw up their own gates to gather requirements, contract out the development, deploy the release, and validate solutions before handing them over to the service teams that would manage the solution for the rest of its lifetime.

Origins of agile development

This model worked for decades, but with the dot-com boom, a new generation of technologists and futurists began building solutions that could be stood up and torn down in a matter of weeks or months instead of years or decades using the new “world wide web” as a platform for communication, applications, and software development.

Coming out of the chaos of the dot-com boom was the dot-com bust that left the famed Northern California Silicon Valley in shambles. As the dust settled, entrepreneurs worked to redefine a set of software development best practices that would support a more standardized approach to short-cycle iterative development.

The resulting process became known as “ agile development ” and came to the Valley with its own set of “agile ninjas” that wielded their own sets of tools, standards, and language to bring stability and a new norm to the valley.

tesla project management case study

At its core, it is this iterative software development methodology that has shaped the culture at Tesla. Tesla does not follow the long development cycles that have been the standard in the automotive industry for decades. Tesla does not wait to roll out improvements. It has instead applied the tenets of agile development to its automotive design and manufacturing processes, and in the process, it has revolutionized the industry.

It is Tesla’s relentless pursuit of not just the best electric vehicle, but the pursuit of the best vehicle, period, that has defined its trajectory more than any other. Tesla, unsurprisingly, operates like a software company. It iterates and rolls out improvements as they come. It takes in feedback regularly, as if it thrives on new ideas, solving problems, continuous improvement and iteration.

Use of agile principles like “scrums” — or regular meetings designed to put structure around ingesting and vetting improvements — have helped Tesla to perfect its vehicles and bring innovations to market that would have taken more traditional automotive companies years if not decades to get into the hands of customers.

The downside of rapid development in the automotive industry

The downside of this model — and current software development — is that, while development may happen at breakneck speeds, the vetting of the software in the millions of applicable scenarios still takes many weeks, months, and years. The result is what we have seen in Tesla’s production vehicles — a total system that is effectively in a permanent beta state. The software is more than functional most of the time, but is expected to have bugs that rear their angry heads.

tesla project management case study

Tesla’s phone key issues , panel gaps in early vehicles, road noise, seat improvements over time in most of its vehicles, issues with early Model X falcon-wing doors, Tesla Model S door handle issues , etc., etc., ad nauseam are all the symptoms of this strategy. Fortunately, the vehicles themselves are so much better than everything else on the road — and Tesla continues to deliver innovative, low-cost service solutions to fix its vehicles — that owners still rate Tesla at the top of the pack . Actually, most Tesla owners wouldn’t be able to have a Tesla vehicle and so much innovation today if it wasn’t for this approach, and they generally understand that and appreciate being able to have the cars (potentially with bugs) rather than having to wait for a similar thoroughly vetted vehicle to come out years from now.

We do not spend a lot of time covering the smaller issues with Tesla’s vehicles because, at this point, they’re more or less expected. It’s not a big deal and they are typically resolved rather quickly. The issues do not typically continue in perpetuity, but rather, Tesla tends to stabilize each platform over time. We’ve seen this play out with the Model S and the Model X, and we are now right in the middle of this evolution with the Model 3.

Extreme manufacturing — agile development for factories

Applying software development methodologies to automotive manufacturing looks great and maybe even obvious in retrospect, but it has been nothing short of a miracle to actually build a company and a business around them, which is what Tesla has done so successfully over the last 15 years.

At its core, agile development takes in new requirements as “ user stories .” These don’t attempt to describe how functionality works, but instead take on the challenge of describing how the functionality will be used and what the actual customer needs. These requirements flow into the project management process not only at the beginning, though — user stories are vetted on an ongoing basis as part of a weekly scrum .

tesla project management case study

The scrum framework defines a standard set of tools that are used in weekly development cycles, called “ sprints .” As the name implies, a sprint is a very short timeframe wherein the development team attempts to build a specific set of functionality based on a single user story .

Quick 15 minute meetings at the start of each day help the team to check status, ask for help, clarity, etc., before getting back to the actual work of developing the functionality. Overall progress delivering new functionality — as measured by the number of user stories that have been completed — is measured as the “ velocity ” of the team.

Joe Justice is leading the charge to adopt the agile development methodology to factories and is putting structure behind what can otherwise become a haphazard application of software development principles to manufacturing. He started doing this with his company Wikispeed  and has since joined Scrum, Inc as a consultant, where he promotes the adoption of the agile development framework in manufacturing.

One key learning he and his team at Wikispeed came away with is that “Morale is multiplier for velocity across the team.” That’s logical and goes along with the disproportionate value of positive feedback versus negative feedback, but rarely seems to make the leap into software development, let alone manufacturing.

The Alien Dreadnought

Joe called out that Tesla has taken the principles of agile development and built its factory to mimic the founding principles of the methodology. A system comprised of robots and flexible, adaptable factories is essentially a naked programming language that can be adapted and dynamically tweaked over time as the incoming user requirements change.

For example, if Tesla’s engineers design a door that’s better — lighter, safer, and cheaper — Tesla can reprogram its factory to build the new door and to integrate it into the existing factory process. The factory has not been hardcoded to only build a single car. Rather, it can shift and adjust as new requirements — or user stories — are added and designed for on the front end.

With Model 3, Tesla aspired to build the ultimate factory production line, which idealistically could be almost entirely automated. It was also hoped that it could deliver greater flexibility for the future and the highest safety in the industry by removing people from dangerous assembly tasks. Furthermore, the target was to achieve significantly lower cost by increasing production speed to levels humans are incapable of delivering. As the production lines for Model 3 were vetted out, Tesla had to refine and adjust some of these areas, giving some complex tasks back to humans that were previously slated for automation.

That work wrapped up at the beginning of 2018 and that’s when Tesla started ramping up Model 3 production in earnest for the first time. But the iteration and improvement isn’t over — it never ends. We’re now seeing that Tesla continues to refine and put a polish on its production lines as the bugs in the system are worked out.

Tesla is already looking to the next big step into the future, with CEO Elon Musk noting that Tesla is working to “finish production design & build it, while avoiding dumb mistakes made with Model 3 production system.” Those who have watched Tesla for any amount of time know that, while Tesla will continue to improve, it will also continue to push the envelope — and that comes with its own set of new, unforeseen challenges.

It gives me hope for the future. It gives many of us hope for the future. The future is electric, but it will come faster with Tesla’s rapid iteration and agile development.

Take a look at Joe’s keynote from REConf 2017  here , where he unpacks the iterative process he and his team used to translate the agile development framework for manufacturing plants.

Editor’s note: I’ll tag something on here that I was planning to turn into its own story. Tesla Motors Club forum member “ dondy ” wrote a superb summary today that explains why Elon Musk’s manufacturing leadership is still so critical to Tesla. In response to the idea that Elon Musk would step down from the CEO role, dondy wrote (edited slightly for grammar & clarity):

Let’s take the example of Doug Field.

I am sure he is a very good, talented engineer who does and will continue doing amazing work.

In 2016 he took over of Model 3 program.

He misjudged initial difficulties and issued overoptimistic prognoses reflected in Q1, Q2, and Q3 2017 reports. He missed issues in Gigafactory 1 completely. He missed required adjustment of Fremont’s General Assembly 3 (GA3) line (famous gaps normal due to unpredictability of idealized design transfer to hard reality). When GA3 stalled thanks to misaligned robot stations, Musk took over.

So, let’s compare: Doug Field in 1.5 years: from 0 to 20% of the production capacity. Very respectful achievement which would earn him a place in any company.

Elon Musk in 3 months: from 20% to 80%, fixing quality problems in the process, adding extra line with 20% capacity production.

In another 2 months, streamlining conveyor line.

Indeed. Elon Musk is superb at leading extreme manufacturing. It isn’t always perfect. It isn’t always easy. It isn’t always pretty . But the progress is substantial and rapid .

Source: Seeking Alpha

Latest CleanTechnica.TV Videos

tesla project management case study

Share this story!

I'm a tech geek passionately in search of actionable ways to reduce the negative impact my life has on the planet, save money and reduce stress. Live intentionally, make conscious decisions, love more, act responsibly, play. The more you know, the less you need. As an activist investor, Kyle owns long term holdings in Tesla, Lightning eMotors, Arcimoto, and SolarEdge.

Kyle Field has 1659 posts and counting. See all posts by Kyle Field

' src=

Brought to you by:

McGraw-Hill Education

Tesla, Inc.

By: Frank T. Rothaermel

The case is set in January 2020 and the case protagonist is Elon Musk, co-founder and CEO of Tesla, Inc., a fully integrated sustainable energy and transportation company. The case sets up…

  • Length: 31 page(s)
  • Publication Date: Mar 7, 2020
  • Discipline: Strategy
  • Product #: MH0067-PDF-ENG

What's included:

  • Teaching Note
  • Educator Copy

$4.95 per student

degree granting course

$8.95 per student

non-degree granting course

Get access to this material, plus much more with a free Educator Account:

  • Access to world-famous HBS cases
  • Up to 60% off materials for your students
  • Resources for teaching online
  • Tips and reviews from other Educators

Already registered? Sign in

  • Student Registration
  • Non-Academic Registration
  • Included Materials

The case is set in January 2020 and the case protagonist is Elon Musk, co-founder and CEO of Tesla, Inc., a fully integrated sustainable energy and transportation company. The case sets up real-world, factual problems that Elon Musk and Tesla face, including how to scale-up production profitably while launching several new models at the same time. Future demand in Tesla's key markets-the United States, China, and Europe-is also uncertain. Tesla, Inc. employed about 50,000 people worldwide and boasted a market capitalization of $150 billion, an appreciation of more than 6,000 percent over its initial public offering in 2010. This made the electric vehicle startup more valuable than GM, Ford, and Fiat Chrysler combined and the second most valuable auto company globally, only behind Toyota Motor Corp. but ahead of the Volkswagen Group, the world's two largest car manufacturers. To put Tesla's stock market valuation in perspective, in 2019, GM and Ford combined made more than 10 million vehicles while Toyota and Volkswagen each made over 10 million. In comparison, Tesla made less than 370,000 cars.

Learning Objectives

Vision, Mission, and Values; Strategic Leadership; External and Internal Analyses; Functional Strategy, especially Operations Management; Business Models; Competitive Strategy; Innovation and Technology Strategy; Platform Strategy and Network Effects; Learning Curve and Economies of Scale; Corporate Strategy, Vertical Integration, and Diversification; Global Strategy; and Organizational Culture and Structure

Mar 7, 2020

Discipline:

Geographies:

China, Europe, United States

Industries:

Automotive industry, Energy and natural resources sector, Software development industry, Transportation and distribution

McGraw-Hill Education

MH0067-PDF-ENG

We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience, including personalizing content. Learn More . By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies and revised Privacy Policy .

tesla project management case study

Smart. Open. Grounded. Inventive. Read our Ideas Made to Matter.

Which program is right for you?

MIT Sloan Campus life

Through intellectual rigor and experiential learning, this full-time, two-year MBA program develops leaders who make a difference in the world.

A rigorous, hands-on program that prepares adaptive problem solvers for premier finance careers.

A 12-month program focused on applying the tools of modern data science, optimization and machine learning to solve real-world business problems.

Earn your MBA and SM in engineering with this transformative two-year program.

Combine an international MBA with a deep dive into management science. A special opportunity for partner and affiliate schools only.

A doctoral program that produces outstanding scholars who are leading in their fields of research.

Bring a business perspective to your technical and quantitative expertise with a bachelor’s degree in management, business analytics, or finance.

A joint program for mid-career professionals that integrates engineering and systems thinking. Earn your master’s degree in engineering and management.

An interdisciplinary program that combines engineering, management, and design, leading to a master’s degree in engineering and management.

Executive Programs

A full-time MBA program for mid-career leaders eager to dedicate one year of discovery for a lifetime of impact.

This 20-month MBA program equips experienced executives to enhance their impact on their organizations and the world.

Non-degree programs for senior executives and high-potential managers.

A non-degree, customizable program for mid-career professionals.

Boston Fed CEO sees interest rates staying put for now

Why this tech consultant and executive coach embraces being a B student

6 ways to transform KPIs

Credit: iStock.com / JasonDoiy

Ideas Made to Matter

New case study takes up Tesla’s entry into the auto industry

Dylan Walsh

May 13, 2019

Within three years of Tesla’s founding in 2003, Elon Musk had invested $55 million of his own money in the company. And yet things were not going as planned. CEOs were leaving after short tenures. The company’s first model, the Roadster, was experiencing cost overruns. In response, in October of 2008, Musk appointed himself CEO. “I have so many chips on the table,” he explained. “I need to steer the boat completely.”

How has he done at the helm? A new case study  on MIT Sloan’s LearningEdge website considers the question with in-depth context about the U.S. automobile market and Tesla’s position within it.

“Prior to Tesla, no domestic manufacturer had entered the U.S. automotive market at scale since the Second World War,” said Donald Sull , a senior lecturer in innovation and entrepreneurship at MIT Sloan and one of the case study’s co-authors. “This case, which includes rich data on the industry, customers’ willingness to pay for electric vehicles, and Tesla’s financial situation, explores whether Tesla’s strategy of establishing a beachhead in the luxury segment and out-innovating its competitors can trump the challenging fundamentals of the auto industry.”

Missing Embeddable item.

Tesla went public in June 2010 at a price of $17 per share. Eight years later, the stock was trading at $335, making Tesla the most valuable car manufacturer in the U.S. But the company had only posted two profitable quarters by that point. Investors were skeptical of its long-term viability, and media coverage wasn’t helping: the mass-market Model 3 was woefully behind schedule, lost in “production hell,” while a series of errant tweets by Musk brought SEC scrutiny and an eventual fine. The company has continued along a bumpy road, with a record $312 million of profit between July and September of 2018, followed by a plunge in stock prices, followed by a slump in sales, followed by promises of a driverless taxi fleet by 2020.

Given this wild variability in Tesla’s performance — sometimes a shining example of Silicon Valley potential, sometimes appearing to be on the brink of collapse — investors and industry experts are split on the company’s future. Where does the company stand? What are its prospects in a broader car market experiencing seismic changes?The case study explores these questions, beginning with a broad overview of how automakers, their suppliers, and their customers define one of America’s most fundamental industries. It then provides detailed background on four modern and connected forces powerfully reshaping this market:

Electrification.  In 2017, 200,000 electric vehicles were sold in the United States, a 25% increase over 2016 sales. The trend is continuing, and new business opportunities are emerging.

  • Autonomous driving.  Self-driving cars are drawing investment from many giant companies, and the implications are striking. As one industry observer put it: “In the past, cars were primarily about driving and secondarily about content consumption. With autonomous cars, that prioritization will be reversed. Fully automatic cars will be battery-powered living rooms on wheels.”
  • Connectivity.  As cars increasingly connect to the internet, old automotive business models are coming into question. The CEO of one Chinese conglomerate suggested that he would eventually be able to offer his company’s electric car for free, earning money instead from services the company sold to customers.
  • Alternatives to car ownership.  A 2017 transportation study out of Stanford University predicts that by 2030, 95% of U.S. passenger miles will be served by on-demand autonomous electric vehicles and there will be an 80% drop in private car ownership in the United States.

Against this backdrop, the case study positions the emergence of Tesla — how the company has both driven and responded to these radical evolutions in the automobile market.

According to Sull: “This case is perfect for analyzing an industry in flux, the financial and operational risks of a disruptive strategy, and how to create value by driving up willingness to pay in an industry with limited product differentiation.”

Related Articles

Artificial rainbow coins in a see-through lockbox

Business Wire

This study analyzes Tesla's Connected, Autonomous, Shared, and Electrified (CASE) strategies. It assesses the key features and talking points of the company's growth strategies, including (but not limited to) EV strategy, autonomous driving technology and the related investments, technology co-operation, energy infrastructure development, and new mobility business models.

Tesla's disruptive approach to vehicle design, development, and sales has started to impact the traditional automotive OEM market. In addition, the company aims to become the sole provider of EVs and charging and energy infrastructures and wants to have them all governed by the Tesla Network (strongly ingrained in its 7 Key Strategies). Strategic and technology partnerships with key technology providers keep costs low and save time and resources spent on development. The company's 7 Key Strategies will position it as the go-to company for all things mobility.

Key Issues Addressed

  • What are Tesla's CASE strategies?
  • What disruptive technologies is the company adopting?
  • What does the Tesla battery business model look like?
  • What is the significance of the Tesla network?
  • What are the mobility goals and strategies in place for mobility programs?

Key Topics Covered:

1. Strategic Imperatives

  • Why Is It Increasingly Difficult to Grow?
  • The Strategic Imperative
  • The Impact of the Top Three Strategic Imperatives on the Automotive Industry
  • Growth Opportunities Fuel the Growth Pipeline Engine

2. Tesla's Master Plan and Vision - 7 Key Strategies

  • Tesla's CASE Strategy Master Plan
  • Tesla's CASE Strategy (Vision) for its Transition to Sustainable Energy
  • Tesla's Sustainable Energy Vision - An In-depth Analysis
  • Tesla's Key Investments - Linked to its Master Plan and Vision
  • Tesla's 7 Key Strategies - Linked to its Master Plan and Vision

3. Tesla's Strategies - A Detailed Analysis

  • Strategy 1 - Ground-up Operating Systems
  • Strategy 2 - Lifestyle Consumer Product Portfolio
  • Strategy 2 - Million Units Product Portfolio
  • Strategy 3 - Chips/System Architecture
  • Tesla's Autonomous Architecture Strategy
  • Strategy 4 - Battery Business
  • Strategy 5 - Data Business Model
  • Strategy 6 - New Mobility
  • Strategy 6 - Million Miles Warranty
  • Strategy 7 - Organization Structure
  • 7 Key Strategies (Linked to the Tesla Master Plan)

4. Growth Opportunity Universe - The Tesla Approach to Growth

  • Growth Opportunity - Autonomous Driving and Electric Mobility for Mobility Services and Ridesharing, Forecast to 2030
  • Growth Environment - Continuous Improvement Makes Every Tesla Model Different
  • Key Conclusions

5. Appendix

  • Partial List of Acronyms and Abbreviations Used in the Study

6. Next Steps

For more information about this company profile visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/xu1hjj

tesla project management case study

ResearchAndMarkets.com Laura Wood, Senior Press Manager [email protected] For E.S.T Office Hours Call 1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call 1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900

tesla project management case study

Panmore Institute

  • About / Contact
  • Privacy Policy
  • Alphabetical List of Companies
  • Business Analysis Topics

Tesla’s Operations Management: 10 Decision Areas, Productivity

Tesla operations management areas, 10 decisions, productivity metrics, strategic areas, automotive and battery business case study

Tesla, Inc. (formerly Tesla Motors, Inc.) applies operations management (OM) practices that address the objectives in the 10 strategic decision areas for optimal productivity in the automotive and energy solutions business. These 10 strategic decision areas require operations managers to maintain best practices to ensure streamlining, operational effectiveness, and high productivity in the organization. In this business analysis case, Tesla’s global expansion plans depend on the success of these practices in optimizing productivity and overall performance. Also, the company’s technological innovation goals support and depend on OM performance. For example, the productivity of Tesla’s automobile manufacturing depends on operations management effectiveness, such as in inventory management and supply chain management. Operations management procedures depend on Tesla’s vision statement and mission statement , which define much of the company’s strategies and tactics. Operations management prowess contributes to high productivity and the growth of the automotive business.

As a popular manufacturer of electric vehicles, Tesla keeps improving its practices for operational competence against competing automakers, such as Toyota , General Motors , Ford , Honda, Volkswagen, BMW, and Nissan. Tesla uses operations management (OM) best practices to maximize productivity while minimizing costs, based on the 10 strategic decision areas. This optimal operational condition contributes to the ability to sell automotive and energy products competitively, despite the challenges linked to competition illustrated in the Five Forces analysis of Tesla, Inc .

Tesla’s Operations Management, 10 Decision Areas

1. Design of Goods and Services . In this strategic decision area, operations managers focus on how the organization’s products influence costs, quality objectives, and resources. In this company analysis case, Tesla addresses these concerns through concurrent innovation, which involves simultaneous innovation in various parts of the automotive, battery, and solar panel business. For example, to ensure productivity in manufacturing advanced electric vehicles, the company continuously innovates its products and supply chain systems. This decision area of operations management links to Tesla’s generic competitive strategy and intensive growth strategies , which emphasize product differentiation and product development as approaches to grow the global business. As a result of strategic focus on the automotive market, Tesla’s operations management emphasizes innovation in manufacturing and the optimization of organizational capacity for innovating electric vehicles and car parts.

2. Quality Management . Satisfying customers’ quality expectations is the main objective in this strategic decision area of operations management. Tesla addresses this strategic objective through regular quality checks, quality improvement initiatives, and research on the automotive/transportation and energy solutions market. In addition, the company continues to enhance its products and processes to satisfy high standards for quality and productivity. For example, Tesla’s operations managers regularly conduct quality reviews of, and implement enhancements to manufacturing processes. Moreover, in response to quality issues with suppliers of automobile parts, Elon Musk shifted the company toward manufacturing more of its own vehicle parts instead of sourcing from parts manufacturers. This shift increases managerial workload but improves quality control and overall product quality. Such control is among the strengths shown in the SWOT analysis of Tesla, Inc .

3. Process and Capacity Design . This operations management decision area focuses on business processes, along with related investments, resources, and standards. Tesla integrates automation for this concern. For example, the company automates manufacturing processes combined with human intervention. This condition helps Tesla achieve high productivity through operational efficiency in the automotive and energy solutions business. Also, Tesla’s organizational structure (business structure) influences and is influenced by this area of operations management. For instance, some parts of the corporate structure depend on relevant process and capacity requirements in the business.

4. Location Strategy . Logistics and nearness to markets, resources, and suppliers are considered in this strategic decision area of operations management. In terms of resources, Tesla’s operations managers utilize its global reach. For example, suppliers in the United States, Europe, and Asia provide some of the basic components for the company’s electric automobiles and other products. Tesla’s marketing mix or 4P also involves company-owned stores and galleries in malls and other key locations to maximize sales personnel productivity and access to the target market. This operations management approach involves high-density areas for displays and sales transactions, considering the company’s relatively high prices and specialization in electric vehicles and energy products.

5. Layout Design and Strategy . In this strategic decision area, operations management is concerned with achieving optimal flow of resources and information. In Tesla’s case, layouts are designed to maximize capacity utilization of facilities, especially buildings used for manufacturing electric vehicles. Also, the company employs advanced computing and networking technologies for internal communications. These approaches increase productivity in Tesla’s operations. The company also minimizes distances among intermediary processes in its manufacturing operations. An example of such minimization is the Nevada Gigafactory, which helps reduce production costs along with vertical integration.

6. Job Design and Human Resources . Adequacy of effective human resources is the objective in this strategic decision area of operations management. Tesla satisfies this objective through a competitive compensation strategy to attract effective and competent workers. This approach is especially important in the market, where many companies compete for high-quality workers. Tesla’s organizational culture (company culture) focuses on innovation and problem-solving and contributes to the definition of this OM decision area. Also, the company’s operations management ensures effectiveness and high productivity of personnel through regular training, as well as leadership development programs. For example, leadership development is used to fulfill Tesla’s leadership needs to grow its automotive business.

7. Supply Chain Management . In this strategic decision area, operations managers focus on adequate supply and an effective and efficient supply chain. Tesla has a global supply chain aimed at supporting its manufacturing processes. For example, the high productivity of the company’s manufacturing plants in the U.S. benefits from timely shipment of materials from overseas. Tesla’s corporate social responsibility, governance, and corporate citizenship ideals are applied in this OM area, in considering the effects of the business on suppliers and associated communities. As an automaker that prioritizes manufacturing in the United States, Tesla’s operations management automates major areas of the supply chain, while constantly looking for strategic partners in the U.S. market.

8. Inventory Management . Inventory decisions, costs, and support for production are considered in this strategic decision area. At Tesla, inventory decisions are based on operations management principles that emphasize quality. For example, managers require that inventory holding does not affect the quality of materials used for the company’s electric vehicles. On the other hand, for high productivity and minimized inventory costs, Tesla’s operations management approach involves just-in-time inventory for some materials. Some materials for automobile production are used as soon as they arrive at the company’s manufacturing facilities. Automation is also applied, partly in response to the trends shown in the PESTLE analysis (PESTEL analysis) of Tesla, Inc . This approach helps minimize the company’s inventory costs.

9. Scheduling . This strategic decision area focuses on short-term and intermediate schedules for resource utilization. Operations managers at Tesla address these concerns through market-based scheduling, combined with automated processes for maximum efficiency. In market-based scheduling, the company monitors actual market demand and uses the resulting data as a basis for scheduling automobile production. On the other hand, Tesla’s operations management supports scheduling activities with automation to minimize errors and delays, thereby enhancing productivity.

10. Maintenance . Adequacy of resources and production capacity are the objectives in this strategic decision area of operations management. Tesla ensures resource adequacy through regular inventory monitoring that readily responds to shifts in market demand. The company addresses the objective of adequate production capacity through a small but significant degree of redundant processes and production resources. For example, Tesla maintains excess production capacity in some of its facilities. Such redundancy allows the company to rapidly increase its production in response to spikes in market demand for energy products. These operations management approaches create resilience and responsiveness in Tesla’s productivity.

Productivity Metrics at Tesla

Tesla uses metrics of productivity based on the production of automobiles, batteries, and solar panels. The company also uses productivity criteria for its services and corporate office operations management. In managing the multinational vehicle and energy business, these criteria and metrics are used to evaluate performance and strategic effectiveness. The following are some of these metrics used to determine Tesla’s productivity:

  • Powertrain units per day (Automotive production facility productivity)
  • Automobiles per day (Tesla car production facility productivity)
  • Inquiries addressed per day (Customer service productivity)
  • Chan, F. T., & Ding, K. (2023). Industrial intelligence-driven production and operations management. International Journal of Production Research, 61 (13), 4215-4219.
  • Jin, T. (2023). Bridging reliability and operations management for superior system availability: Challenges and opportunities. Frontiers of Engineering Management , 1-15.
  • Tesla, Inc. – Form 10-K .
  • Tesla, Inc. – Product Impact .
  • Tesla, Inc. – Supply Chain .
  • Copyright by Panmore Institute - All rights reserved.
  • This article may not be reproduced, distributed, or mirrored without written permission from Panmore Institute and its author/s.
  • Educators, Researchers, and Students: You are permitted to quote or paraphrase parts of this article (not the entire article) for educational or research purposes, as long as the article is properly cited and referenced together with its URL/link.

Tesla Inc. Dealing with Risk and Uncertainty Case Study

  • To find inspiration for your paper and overcome writer’s block
  • As a source of information (ensure proper referencing)
  • As a template for you assignment

Tesla is most suitable for discussing such an important thing from an economic point of view as dealing with risk and uncertainty, especially given the recent crisis episodes in the global economy. Tesla Inc. is a large automotive and energy company, established relatively recently in 2003 and located in Palo Alto, California (Tesla, 2021). The main direction of the company’s specialization is the production of electric vehicles. In many ways, it can be considered, if not a pioneer in this niche, then one of the most prominent representatives for sure. Tesla is seen as a pioneer in the industry. It was one of the first to introduce advanced renewable power technology in vehicles, combining its approach with the automation and digitalization of vehicle assembly. The firm also innovated in its very choice of business model. Unlike other auto companies that distribute their products through dealerships, it has started selling cars directly to consumers, making Tesla the most productive player in its market. In the essay, risk management and issues related to risks are discussed in the context of Tesla’s recent actions.

The most serious problem that Tesla has faced in recent years is the macroeconomic changes in the market, geopolitics, and the global economy. In particular, the COVID-19 pandemic has become the company’s most important factor and problem. Having begun to actively and destructively influence the global economy at the beginning of the first quarter of 2020, the damage from the pandemic began to grow exponentially. More and more industries were affected, and the impact on the world of the pandemic was growing every month and quarter. The situation was influenced by government regulations and measures of protection from the pandemic to minimize the damage to the economy and society. Coupled with changing social behavior, protective measures have led to the restriction or complete closure of the first and secondary logistics lines. Government functions, business activities, and personal communication within the company were also affected, as well as production and general activities. In some cases, the weakening of such trends has accompanied an actual or perceived return to severe social interaction and commerce (Tesla Inc., 2021). Thus, the pandemic has become one of the main crisis risk factors for Tesla.

As a means of countering the growing impact of the crisis, Tesla temporarily suspended all related operations at all of its manufacturing plants over the past year. The suspension has affected operations worldwide, and some of the company’s main suppliers have temporarily or permanently ceased operations (Tesla Inc., 2021). The company introduced layoffs and pay cuts with a negative reputational and political effect. At the same time, Tesla’s US operations have been scaled back to minimize damage to their operations and reduce social interactions within the staff (Tesla Inc., 2021). Temporary obstacles to the administration and maintenance of the company also impeded the delivery and deployment of Tesla’s products to the market. Thus, the company’s attempt to minimize economic damage led to colossal losses in production and supply. The company’s activities affected its administrative resources and led to reputational damage for Tesla. Looking at the company’s current state, it can be judged that a tough and sharp attempt to counter the crisis led to long-term problems during the crisis, which will have consequences for Tesla in the future.

The situation in the company might be improved through the use of risk management. As such, a general methodology for improving the processes done by risk management departments provided by Hillson and Simon (2020) is sufficient for such an improvement. The first part of advice for the company would be enhancing the operation of risk identification. Namely, the team and its managers should organize regular brief meetings to discuss possible challenges. The risk department should orderly recognize the problems and describe them, mentioning all the threats and possibilities that might arise from the situation. Next, the specialists must assess the emergency and scale of impact the problem might cause; the list of risk priorities is compiled by combining these parameters (Hillson & Simon, 2020). Finally, the collateral phenomena signalizing the existence of risk are to be determined.

Furthermore, a stage of planning and reporting the problem is recommended for risk management. Namely, the company should identify the actions that can reduce risks by interviewing persons that cause or are relevant to the problem, compiling appropriate strategies, and appointing people responsible for the actions. Moreover, these actions should be budgeted; and specialists should suppose a set of expected changes and signs of success (Hillson & Simon, 2020). However, the plan should not be accessible to the managers only. They must report the information with detailed analysis, easy-to-understand preview, and evidence-based report to the stakeholders (Hillson & Simon, 2020). Thus, the important information about risks would be comprehended by persons that can influence its minimization.

Finally, the implementation is the most significant part of the process, and advice can improve it. Before all, responsible managers should monitor all the actions, budgets, persons, and changes. If new risks arise or some unexpected issues occur, the plan should be modified accordingly. Moreover, all updates must be reported to relevant offices and stakeholders (Hillson & Simon, 2020). Consequently, the process should be assessed for its impact and effectiveness to prevent further risks.

As mentioned earlier, one of the methods of countering the crisis within the company, Tesla chose staff reduction. However, it should also be noted that the reduction was carried out very sharply and not always legally and based on the economic necessity of the company. There are enough examples of such events, such as cases with the Tesla production management representatives who left the company after the first quarter. Employees of the company often cite the imbalance between personal life, especially relationships with family, and work hours as the reason for leaving. In particular, the matter is about strong reworking in the course of work, both among the production and logistics employees and the company’s management personnel (Scheiber, 2021). The company also committed acts that resulted in severe reputational damage, such as firing Richard Ortiz, a Tesla employee who was a union member.

The unions of the company’s employees have been experiencing strong discontent since 2018, but the crisis created by the COVID-19 pandemic has only exacerbated the situation. The company’s CEO, Elon Musk, is himself mentioned in the company’s report as a source of risk factors (Scheiber, 2021), and the reason for this is, among other things, offensive statements about the laid-off employees. As a result, the 2019 National Labor Relations Board ruling that Tesla illegally fired a worker involved in a union organization remains in effect today. Also, the company’s executive director, Elon Musk, illegally threatened workers with the loss of stock options if they were associated with trade unions (Scheiber, 2021). To prevent similar incidents in the future, the company needs to communicate more humanely and openly with employees and approach their dismissal without the personal motives of management. One should also consider the company’s CEO, Elon Musk, as a separate risk factor, often only exacerbating the consequences of downsizing due to the pandemic crisis with his statements and behavior.

It is also important to how Tesla deals with the moral hazard problem. In particular, one can cite the case that occurred with California resident Benjamin Maldonado and his teenage son when they were driving back from a soccer tournament. While the family was driving home on the California freeway in August 2019, a truck in front of them slowed. When Mister Maldonado turned on the turn signal, his Ford Explorer pickup was hit by a Tesla Model 3, traveling on autopilot. According to a police report, Giovani, who was sitting in the front passenger seat, was thrown from a Ford vehicle and passed away (Boudette, 2021). The company took a position of blaming the victims of road accidents, which negatively affected its reputation and led to a decrease in the company’s profits and discontent on the part of Tesla stakeholders. However, Tesla could have tried to help the victims and their families, thereby demonstrating loyalty to its customers, which positively influenced attitudes towards the company and its business activities in the future. Such a policy often positively impacts the solution of crises related to the public.

Based on some of the above factors, we can judge that Tesla’s principal-agent problem is the CEO of Elon Musk. Musk has regularly discredited the company’s activities with disrespectful, offensive, and sometimes publicly inappropriate statements and actions. This kind of behavior of the person representing the company directly impacts Tesla’s tolerance of the crisis. Earlier, there were cases when Musk’s activities led to a negative reaction from stakeholders, customers, the press, and direct from company employees (Scheiber, 2021). Thus, the company often faces crisis factors emanating directly from its CEO.

To prevent this, the company’s board of directors, both previously and recently, has tried to limit Musk’s influence on public opinion about the company. Still, Tesla has to approach this process quite carefully. The reason for this is the fact that the popularity of the company’s brand was ensured precisely by the public activities of Elon Musk, from which one can judge that the company owes him both its commercial and public success and its problems. Thus, the company’s management approach is the most optimal solution to the problem, taking into account the specifics of the activities of the company’s principal agent represented by Elon Musk.

The structure of Tesla is also important, directly influencing its activities and representing a unique combination of divisional approach and flexibility. As stated in a study on company structure, Tesla does not have a traditional governance structure. The company does not have any organizational chart or a public list of top executives, which distinguishes it from other companies in their niche and commensurate competitors (Dudovskiy, 2021). One of the important distinguishing features of the company is problems with the delegation of powers from the side of its CEO Elon Musk.

Relying on personal traits such as a declared willingness to give up personal time and productivity, Musk seeks to control micro-management directly. This negatively affects the company’s state since the organizational structure, although devoid of excessive bureaucracy, still depends on the state and personality of the only leader. To improve the situation and improve the organization of the structure of Tesla, clearer management and top management structure is needed, with the delegation of CEO powers to a separate group of managers. The company should also implement a clearer management structure while trying not to lose its main advantage, which is the flexibility of management and the absence of bureaucracy, which often inhibits the activities of employees.

Summarizing the above data about the company, you can see that Tesla’s methods of dealing with crises and recent problems that have arisen are counterproductive. Moreover, most of Tesla’s decisions negatively affect the company, both commercially and reputationally. It is safe to say that the personality of its CEO Elon Musk also harms the company’s activities to a greater extent, compensated only by his influence on the public. Musk’s influence and behavior are gaining acceptance from audiences not directly related to the company or its products, which is questionable for stakeholders. His statements to Tesla employees and victims of company product accidents only exacerbate the situation. But the most counterproductive for the company is Musk’s attempt at ubiquitous micro-management and its reluctance to delegate authority. This negatively affects the structure of a company the size of Tesla and will have repercussions in the future.

Boudette, N. E. (2021). Tesla says autopilot makes its cars Safer. Crash victims say it Kills . The New York Times .

Dudovskiy, J. (2021). Tesla organizational structure: Divisional and flexible . Business Research Methodology.

Hillson, D., & Simon, P. (2020). Practical project risk management, third edition: The ATOM methodology (3rd ed.). Berrett-Koehler Publishers.

Scheiber, N. (2021). Tesla employee’s firing and Elon Musk’s tweet on union were illegal, labor board rules . The New York Times .

Tesla. (2021). About Tesla .

Tesla Inc. (2021). Quarterly report pursuant to section 13 or 15(d) of the securities exchange act of 1934 .

  • Popularity of the Tesla Motors World
  • Kirzner’s Theory of Opportunity
  • Elon Mask: Biography and Main Virtues
  • Analysts, Securities Firms, and Conflicts of Interest
  • Dealing with Risk and Uncertainty in Business
  • Risk Factors Affecting Bank Nordik’s Operations and Risk Management
  • A Risk Management Plan For United Airlines
  • Risk Management in a Technology Company: Huawei
  • Chicago (A-D)
  • Chicago (N-B)

IvyPanda. (2023, March 3). Tesla Inc. Dealing with Risk and Uncertainty. https://ivypanda.com/essays/tesla-inc-dealing-with-risk-and-uncertainty/

"Tesla Inc. Dealing with Risk and Uncertainty." IvyPanda , 3 Mar. 2023, ivypanda.com/essays/tesla-inc-dealing-with-risk-and-uncertainty/.

IvyPanda . (2023) 'Tesla Inc. Dealing with Risk and Uncertainty'. 3 March.

IvyPanda . 2023. "Tesla Inc. Dealing with Risk and Uncertainty." March 3, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/tesla-inc-dealing-with-risk-and-uncertainty/.

1. IvyPanda . "Tesla Inc. Dealing with Risk and Uncertainty." March 3, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/tesla-inc-dealing-with-risk-and-uncertainty/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Tesla Inc. Dealing with Risk and Uncertainty." March 3, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/tesla-inc-dealing-with-risk-and-uncertainty/.

How Agile Works at Tesla

Profile picture for user Stefan Wolpers

  • Website for Stefan Wolpers
  • Contact Stefan Wolpers
  • Twitter for Stefan Wolpers
  • LinkedIn for Stefan Wolpers
  • Xing for Stefan Wolpers
  • GitHub for Stefan Wolpers

TL; DR: How Elon Musk Would Run YOUR Business with Joe Justice

Joe Justice worked for Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, and Elon Musk. 

In this Hands-on Agile meetup, Joe shared DX, or Digital Transformation, the agile operating system for TeslaSpeed—a term coined by the EU Commission to talk about how fast Tesla moves and how fast they need to move now.

How Elon Musk Would Run YOUR Business mit Joe Justice — Hands-on Agile EXTRA

📺  Watch the video now :  How Elon Musk Would Run YOUR Business mit Joe Justice — Hands-on Agile EXTRA .

🎓 Join Stefan in one of his  upcoming Professional Scrum training classes !

📖 Get notified when the  Scrum Anti-Patterns Guide book is available !

Abstract: DX, or Digital Transformation

Joe shared DX, or Digital Transformation, the agile operating system for TeslaSpeed—a term coined by the EU Commission to talk about how fast Tesla moves and how fast they need to move now.

The 12-step DX process brings companies from where they are now toward their manifest destiny.

Summary by Adrian-Emil Suciu

My Key takeaways from Joe Justice interview by Stefan Wolpers “How Would Elon Musk Run Your Company:”

  • There is no known process at Tesla (no SCRUM, no Kanban, no Lean); they built their own by continuous experimentation.
  • Tesla is a “Radical Experimentation” company; they keep multiple versions of their product in production at the same time.
  • Experimentation is driven by thorough testing; testing is a central activity in every team.
  • Hiring is NOT based on roles; they hire based on the relevant qualification of the candidate to the problem at hand.
  • Teams self-organize around very bold goals.
  • There is a perfect alignment around the general company goal; it is called the “1000 years goal.”
  • Teams self-form around experiments ideas, using Open Space Technology.
  • Each experiment aims to improve a tiny fraction of the product, e.g., heat pump energy consumption.
  • There are no specialty teams at Tesla; they are all blended software/hardware teams.
  • Teams have 100% decision freedom, respecting the 15 core rules of the company.
  • This flat, team-decision-driven environment creates great motivation for the employees.

“I won’t forget the anecdotic parts:”

  • 🎃 If you take a Musk product and rip off the plastic cover, you may find some wood or parts belonging to an experiment. Some products are, therefore, unique, containing manually manufactured parts.
  • 🎃 Elon Musk does not own a house; he sleeps in a sleeping bag in the factory.

Meet Joe Justice

Joe Justice is a TED.com speaker and guest lecturer at MIT and Oxford University in England. He has been featured in Forbes five times to date, including as owner of a “Company to watch” by the Forbes Billionaire Club, cited in more than eight business paperbacks and hardcovers, and is the subject of a Discovery Channel documentary for his work creating the disciplines “Extreme Manufacturing,” “Agile Hardware,” and “The Justice Method.”

Joe Justice founded WIKISPEED and operated Agile@Tesla from the global headquarters of Tesla‘s Fremont, California.

Watch the recording of Joe Justice’s talk on How Elon Musk Would Run YOUR Business now:

Q&A Session with Joe Justice

During the Q&A session, Joe Justice answered the following questions from attendees:

  • Who sets the rules for limiting autonomy?
  • What patterns or principles did the Musk companies use to reduce the cost of change in hardware development? Regression testing and integration testing, I’d presume to be the first few mentioned, but what else?
  • What is your view on Scrum or whatever framework at scale? Fundamentally, what considerations should you make once your organization can be expressed only in terms of the power of 3?
  • What is your advice on bringing together teams who develop software components with other teams who develop hardware components of a common product (everything has to come together, but these teams have different working methods)?

(Please note that the questions have been slightly edited to improve legibility.)

Connect with Joe Justice

Joe Justice’s Website

What did you think about this post?

Share with your network.

  • Share this page via email
  • Share this page on Facebook
  • Share this page on Twitter
  • Share this page on LinkedIn

View the discussion thread.

About Stanford GSB

  • The Leadership
  • Dean’s Updates
  • School News & History
  • Commencement
  • Business, Government & Society
  • Centers & Institutes
  • Center for Entrepreneurial Studies
  • Center for Social Innovation
  • Stanford Seed

About the Experience

  • Learning at Stanford GSB
  • Experiential Learning
  • Guest Speakers
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Social Innovation
  • Communication
  • Life at Stanford GSB
  • Collaborative Environment
  • Activities & Organizations
  • Student Services
  • Housing Options
  • International Students

Full-Time Degree Programs

  • Why Stanford MBA
  • Academic Experience
  • Financial Aid
  • Why Stanford MSx
  • Research Fellows Program
  • See All Programs

Non-Degree & Certificate Programs

  • Executive Education
  • Stanford Executive Program
  • Programs for Organizations
  • The Difference
  • Online Programs
  • Stanford LEAD
  • Seed Transformation Program
  • Aspire Program
  • Seed Spark Program
  • Faculty Profiles
  • Academic Areas
  • Awards & Honors
  • Conferences

Faculty Research

  • Publications
  • Working Papers
  • Case Studies

Research Hub

  • Research Labs & Initiatives
  • Business Library
  • Data, Analytics & Research Computing
  • Behavioral Lab

Research Labs

  • Cities, Housing & Society Lab
  • Golub Capital Social Impact Lab

Research Initiatives

  • Corporate Governance Research Initiative
  • Corporations and Society Initiative
  • Policy and Innovation Initiative
  • Rapid Decarbonization Initiative
  • Stanford Latino Entrepreneurship Initiative
  • Value Chain Innovation Initiative
  • Venture Capital Initiative
  • Career & Success
  • Climate & Sustainability
  • Corporate Governance
  • Culture & Society
  • Finance & Investing
  • Government & Politics
  • Leadership & Management
  • Markets and Trade
  • Operations & Logistics
  • Opportunity & Access
  • Technology & AI
  • Opinion & Analysis
  • Email Newsletter

Welcome, Alumni

  • Communities
  • Digital Communities & Tools
  • Regional Chapters
  • Women’s Programs
  • Identity Chapters
  • Find Your Reunion
  • Career Resources
  • Job Search Resources
  • Career & Life Transitions
  • Programs & Services
  • Career Video Library
  • Alumni Education
  • Research Resources
  • Volunteering
  • Alumni News
  • Class Notes
  • Alumni Voices
  • Contact Alumni Relations
  • Upcoming Events

Admission Events & Information Sessions

  • MBA Program
  • MSx Program
  • PhD Program
  • Alumni Events
  • All Other Events
  • Operations, Information & Technology
  • Organizational Behavior
  • Political Economy
  • Classical Liberalism
  • The Eddie Lunch
  • Accounting Summer Camp
  • Videos, Code & Data
  • California Econometrics Conference
  • California Quantitative Marketing PhD Conference
  • California School Conference
  • China India Insights Conference
  • Homo economicus, Evolving
  • Political Economics (2023–24)
  • Scaling Geologic Storage of CO2 (2023–24)
  • A Resilient Pacific: Building Connections, Envisioning Solutions
  • Adaptation and Innovation
  • Changing Climate
  • Civil Society
  • Climate Impact Summit
  • Climate Science
  • Corporate Carbon Disclosures
  • Earth’s Seafloor
  • Environmental Justice
  • Operations and Information Technology
  • Organizations
  • Sustainability Reporting and Control
  • Taking the Pulse of the Planet
  • Urban Infrastructure
  • Watershed Restoration
  • Junior Faculty Workshop on Financial Regulation and Banking
  • Ken Singleton Celebration
  • Marketing Camp
  • Quantitative Marketing PhD Alumni Conference
  • Presentations
  • Theory and Inference in Accounting Research
  • Stanford Closer Look Series
  • Quick Guides
  • Core Concepts
  • Journal Articles
  • Glossary of Terms
  • Faculty & Staff
  • Researchers & Students
  • Research Approach
  • Charitable Giving
  • Financial Health
  • Government Services
  • Workers & Careers
  • Short Course
  • Adaptive & Iterative Experimentation
  • Incentive Design
  • Social Sciences & Behavioral Nudges
  • Bandit Experiment Application
  • Conferences & Events
  • Get Involved
  • Reading Materials
  • Teaching & Curriculum
  • Energy Entrepreneurship
  • Faculty & Affiliates
  • SOLE Report
  • Responsible Supply Chains
  • Current Study Usage
  • Pre-Registration Information
  • Participate in a Study

Tesla: Business & Operating Model Evolution

Learning objective.

tesla project management case study

  • Priorities for the GSB's Future
  • See the Current DEI Report
  • Supporting Data
  • Research & Insights
  • Share Your Thoughts
  • Search Fund Primer
  • Affiliated Faculty
  • Faculty Advisors
  • Louis W. Foster Resource Center
  • Defining Social Innovation
  • Impact Compass
  • Global Health Innovation Insights
  • Faculty Affiliates
  • Student Awards & Certificates
  • Changemakers
  • Dean Jonathan Levin
  • Dean Garth Saloner
  • Dean Robert Joss
  • Dean Michael Spence
  • Dean Robert Jaedicke
  • Dean Rene McPherson
  • Dean Arjay Miller
  • Dean Ernest Arbuckle
  • Dean Jacob Hugh Jackson
  • Dean Willard Hotchkiss
  • Faculty in Memoriam
  • Stanford GSB Firsts
  • Certificate & Award Recipients
  • Teaching Approach
  • Analysis and Measurement of Impact
  • The Corporate Entrepreneur: Startup in a Grown-Up Enterprise
  • Data-Driven Impact
  • Designing Experiments for Impact
  • Digital Business Transformation
  • The Founder’s Right Hand
  • Marketing for Measurable Change
  • Product Management
  • Public Policy Lab: Financial Challenges Facing US Cities
  • Public Policy Lab: Homelessness in California
  • Lab Features
  • Curricular Integration
  • View From The Top
  • Formation of New Ventures
  • Managing Growing Enterprises
  • Startup Garage
  • Explore Beyond the Classroom
  • Stanford Venture Studio
  • Summer Program
  • Workshops & Events
  • The Five Lenses of Entrepreneurship
  • Leadership Labs
  • Executive Challenge
  • Arbuckle Leadership Fellows Program
  • Selection Process
  • Training Schedule
  • Time Commitment
  • Learning Expectations
  • Post-Training Opportunities
  • Who Should Apply
  • Introductory T-Groups
  • Leadership for Society Program
  • Certificate
  • 2023 Awardees
  • 2022 Awardees
  • 2021 Awardees
  • 2020 Awardees
  • 2019 Awardees
  • 2018 Awardees
  • Social Management Immersion Fund
  • Stanford Impact Founder Fellowships and Prizes
  • Stanford Impact Leader Prizes
  • Social Entrepreneurship
  • Stanford GSB Impact Fund
  • Economic Development
  • Energy & Environment
  • Stanford GSB Residences
  • Environmental Leadership
  • Stanford GSB Artwork
  • A Closer Look
  • California & the Bay Area
  • Voices of Stanford GSB
  • Business & Beneficial Technology
  • Business & Sustainability
  • Business & Free Markets
  • Business, Government, and Society Forum
  • Second Year
  • Global Experiences
  • JD/MBA Joint Degree
  • MA Education/MBA Joint Degree
  • MD/MBA Dual Degree
  • MPP/MBA Joint Degree
  • MS Computer Science/MBA Joint Degree
  • MS Electrical Engineering/MBA Joint Degree
  • MS Environment and Resources (E-IPER)/MBA Joint Degree
  • Academic Calendar
  • Clubs & Activities
  • LGBTQ+ Students
  • Military Veterans
  • Minorities & People of Color
  • Partners & Families
  • Students with Disabilities
  • Student Support
  • Residential Life
  • Student Voices
  • MBA Alumni Voices
  • A Week in the Life
  • Career Support
  • Employment Outcomes
  • Cost of Attendance
  • Knight-Hennessy Scholars Program
  • Yellow Ribbon Program
  • BOLD Fellows Fund
  • Application Process
  • Loan Forgiveness
  • Contact the Financial Aid Office
  • Evaluation Criteria
  • GMAT & GRE
  • English Language Proficiency
  • Personal Information, Activities & Awards
  • Professional Experience
  • Letters of Recommendation
  • Optional Short Answer Questions
  • Application Fee
  • Reapplication
  • Deferred Enrollment
  • Joint & Dual Degrees
  • Entering Class Profile
  • Event Schedule
  • Ambassadors
  • New & Noteworthy
  • Ask a Question
  • See Why Stanford MSx
  • Is MSx Right for You?
  • MSx Stories
  • Leadership Development
  • Career Advancement
  • Career Change
  • How You Will Learn
  • Admission Events
  • Personal Information
  • Information for Recommenders
  • GMAT, GRE & EA
  • English Proficiency Tests
  • After You’re Admitted
  • Daycare, Schools & Camps
  • U.S. Citizens and Permanent Residents
  • Requirements
  • Requirements: Behavioral
  • Requirements: Quantitative
  • Requirements: Macro
  • Requirements: Micro
  • Annual Evaluations
  • Field Examination
  • Research Activities
  • Research Papers
  • Dissertation
  • Oral Examination
  • Current Students
  • Education & CV
  • International Applicants
  • Statement of Purpose
  • Reapplicants
  • Application Fee Waiver
  • Deadline & Decisions
  • Job Market Candidates
  • Academic Placements
  • Stay in Touch
  • Faculty Mentors
  • Current Fellows
  • Standard Track
  • Fellowship & Benefits
  • Group Enrollment
  • Program Formats
  • Developing a Program
  • Diversity & Inclusion
  • Strategic Transformation
  • Program Experience
  • Contact Client Services
  • Campus Experience
  • Live Online Experience
  • Silicon Valley & Bay Area
  • Digital Credentials
  • Faculty Spotlights
  • Participant Spotlights
  • Eligibility
  • International Participants
  • Stanford Ignite
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Founding Donors
  • Location Information
  • Participant Profile
  • Network Membership
  • Program Impact
  • Collaborators
  • Entrepreneur Profiles
  • Company Spotlights
  • Seed Transformation Network
  • Responsibilities
  • Current Coaches
  • How to Apply
  • Meet the Consultants
  • Meet the Interns
  • Intern Profiles
  • Collaborate
  • Research Library
  • News & Insights
  • Program Contacts
  • Databases & Datasets
  • Research Guides
  • Consultations
  • Research Workshops
  • Career Research
  • Research Data Services
  • Course Reserves
  • Course Research Guides
  • Material Loan Periods
  • Fines & Other Charges
  • Document Delivery
  • Interlibrary Loan
  • Equipment Checkout
  • Print & Scan
  • MBA & MSx Students
  • PhD Students
  • Other Stanford Students
  • Faculty Assistants
  • Research Assistants
  • Stanford GSB Alumni
  • Telling Our Story
  • Staff Directory
  • Site Registration
  • Alumni Directory
  • Alumni Email
  • Privacy Settings & My Profile
  • Success Stories
  • The Story of Circles
  • Support Women’s Circles
  • Stanford Women on Boards Initiative
  • Alumnae Spotlights
  • Insights & Research
  • Industry & Professional
  • Entrepreneurial Commitment Group
  • Recent Alumni
  • Half-Century Club
  • Fall Reunions
  • Spring Reunions
  • MBA 25th Reunion
  • Half-Century Club Reunion
  • Faculty Lectures
  • Ernest C. Arbuckle Award
  • Alison Elliott Exceptional Achievement Award
  • ENCORE Award
  • Excellence in Leadership Award
  • John W. Gardner Volunteer Leadership Award
  • Robert K. Jaedicke Faculty Award
  • Jack McDonald Military Service Appreciation Award
  • Jerry I. Porras Latino Leadership Award
  • Tapestry Award
  • Student & Alumni Events
  • Executive Recruiters
  • Interviewing
  • Land the Perfect Job with LinkedIn
  • Negotiating
  • Elevator Pitch
  • Email Best Practices
  • Resumes & Cover Letters
  • Self-Assessment
  • Whitney Birdwell Ball
  • Margaret Brooks
  • Bryn Panee Burkhart
  • Margaret Chan
  • Ricki Frankel
  • Peter Gandolfo
  • Cindy W. Greig
  • Natalie Guillen
  • Carly Janson
  • Sloan Klein
  • Sherri Appel Lassila
  • Stuart Meyer
  • Tanisha Parrish
  • Virginia Roberson
  • Philippe Taieb
  • Michael Takagawa
  • Terra Winston
  • Johanna Wise
  • Debbie Wolter
  • Rebecca Zucker
  • Complimentary Coaching
  • Changing Careers
  • Work-Life Integration
  • Career Breaks
  • Flexible Work
  • Encore Careers
  • Join a Board
  • D&B Hoovers
  • Data Axle (ReferenceUSA)
  • EBSCO Business Source
  • Global Newsstream
  • Market Share Reporter
  • ProQuest One Business
  • Student Clubs
  • Entrepreneurial Students
  • Stanford GSB Trust
  • Alumni Community
  • How to Volunteer
  • Springboard Sessions
  • Consulting Projects
  • 2020 – 2029
  • 2010 – 2019
  • 2000 – 2009
  • 1990 – 1999
  • 1980 – 1989
  • 1970 – 1979
  • 1960 – 1969
  • 1950 – 1959
  • 1940 – 1949
  • Service Areas
  • ACT History
  • ACT Awards Celebration
  • ACT Governance Structure
  • Building Leadership for ACT
  • Individual Leadership Positions
  • Leadership Role Overview
  • Purpose of the ACT Management Board
  • Contact ACT
  • Business & Nonprofit Communities
  • Reunion Volunteers
  • Ways to Give
  • Fiscal Year Report
  • Business School Fund Leadership Council
  • Planned Giving Options
  • Planned Giving Benefits
  • Planned Gifts and Reunions
  • Legacy Partners
  • Giving News & Stories
  • Giving Deadlines
  • Development Staff
  • Submit Class Notes
  • Class Secretaries
  • Board of Directors
  • Health Care
  • Sustainability
  • Class Takeaways
  • All Else Equal: Making Better Decisions
  • If/Then: Business, Leadership, Society
  • Grit & Growth
  • Think Fast, Talk Smart
  • Spring 2022
  • Spring 2021
  • Autumn 2020
  • Summer 2020
  • Winter 2020
  • In the Media
  • For Journalists
  • DCI Fellows
  • Other Auditors
  • Academic Calendar & Deadlines
  • Course Materials
  • Entrepreneurial Resources
  • Campus Drive Grove
  • Campus Drive Lawn
  • CEMEX Auditorium
  • King Community Court
  • Seawell Family Boardroom
  • Stanford GSB Bowl
  • Stanford Investors Common
  • Town Square
  • Vidalakis Courtyard
  • Vidalakis Dining Hall
  • Catering Services
  • Policies & Guidelines
  • Reservations
  • Contact Faculty Recruiting
  • Lecturer Positions
  • Postdoctoral Positions
  • Accommodations
  • CMC-Managed Interviews
  • Recruiter-Managed Interviews
  • Virtual Interviews
  • Campus & Virtual
  • Search for Candidates
  • Think Globally
  • Recruiting Calendar
  • Recruiting Policies
  • Full-Time Employment
  • Summer Employment
  • Entrepreneurial Summer Program
  • Global Management Immersion Experience
  • Social-Purpose Summer Internships
  • Process Overview
  • Project Types
  • Client Eligibility Criteria
  • Client Screening
  • ACT Leadership
  • Social Innovation & Nonprofit Management Resources
  • Develop Your Organization’s Talent
  • Centers & Initiatives
  • Student Fellowships
  • Today's news
  • Reviews and deals
  • Climate change
  • 2024 election
  • Fall allergies
  • Health news
  • Mental health
  • Sexual health
  • Family health
  • So mini ways
  • Unapologetically
  • Buying guides

Entertainment

  • How to Watch
  • My Portfolio
  • Latest News
  • Stock Market
  • Premium News
  • Biden Economy
  • EV Deep Dive
  • Stocks: Most Actives
  • Stocks: Gainers
  • Stocks: Losers
  • Trending Tickers
  • World Indices
  • US Treasury Bonds
  • Top Mutual Funds
  • Highest Open Interest
  • Highest Implied Volatility
  • Stock Comparison
  • Advanced Charts
  • Currency Converter
  • Basic Materials
  • Communication Services
  • Consumer Cyclical
  • Consumer Defensive
  • Financial Services
  • Industrials
  • Real Estate
  • Mutual Funds
  • Credit cards
  • Balance Transfer Cards
  • Cash-back Cards
  • Rewards Cards
  • Travel Cards
  • Student Loans
  • Personal Loans
  • Car Insurance
  • Morning Brief
  • Market Domination
  • Market Domination Overtime
  • Asking for a Trend
  • Opening Bid
  • Stocks in Translation
  • Lead This Way
  • Good Buy or Goodbye?
  • Fantasy football
  • Pro Pick 'Em
  • College Pick 'Em
  • Fantasy baseball
  • Fantasy hockey
  • Fantasy basketball
  • Download the app
  • Daily fantasy
  • Scores and schedules
  • GameChannel
  • World Baseball Classic
  • Premier League
  • CONCACAF League
  • Champions League
  • Motorsports
  • Horse racing
  • Newsletters

New on Yahoo

  • Privacy Dashboard

Yahoo Finance

Tesla's product portfolio and case strategies report 2020: investments, technology co-operation, energy infrastructure development, and new mobility business models.

Dublin, June 03, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Strategic Analysis of Tesla's Product Portfolio and Connected, Autonomous, Shared, and Electrified (CASE) Strategies, 2025" company profile has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

This study analyzes Tesla's Connected, Autonomous, Shared, and Electrified (CASE) strategies. It assesses the key features and talking points of the company's growth strategies, including (but not limited to) EV strategy, autonomous driving technology and the related investments, technology co-operation, energy infrastructure development, and new mobility business models.

Tesla's disruptive approach to vehicle design, development, and sales has started to impact the traditional automotive OEM market. In addition, the company aims to become the sole provider of EVs and charging and energy infrastructures and wants to have them all governed by the Tesla Network (strongly ingrained in its 7 Key Strategies). Strategic and technology partnerships with key technology providers keep costs low and save time and resources spent on development. The company's 7 Key Strategies will position it as the go-to company for all things mobility.

Key Issues Addressed

What are Tesla's CASE strategies?

What disruptive technologies is the company adopting?

What does the Tesla battery business model look like?

What is the significance of the Tesla network?

What are the mobility goals and strategies in place for mobility programs?

Key Topics Covered:

1. Strategic Imperatives

Why Is It Increasingly Difficult to Grow?

The Strategic Imperative

The Impact of the Top Three Strategic Imperatives on the Automotive Industry

Growth Opportunities Fuel the Growth Pipeline Engine

2. Tesla's Master Plan and Vision - 7 Key Strategies

Tesla's CASE Strategy Master Plan

Tesla's CASE Strategy (Vision) for its Transition to Sustainable Energy

Tesla's Sustainable Energy Vision - An In-depth Analysis

Tesla's Key Investments - Linked to its Master Plan and Vision

Tesla's 7 Key Strategies - Linked to its Master Plan and Vision

3. Tesla's Strategies - A Detailed Analysis

Strategy 1 - Ground-up Operating Systems

Strategy 2 - Lifestyle Consumer Product Portfolio

Strategy 2 - Million Units Product Portfolio

Strategy 3 - Chips/System Architecture

Tesla's Autonomous Architecture Strategy

Strategy 4 - Battery Business

Strategy 5 - Data Business Model

Strategy 6 - New Mobility

Strategy 6 - Million Miles Warranty

Strategy 7 - Organization Structure

7 Key Strategies (Linked to the Tesla Master Plan)

4. Growth Opportunity Universe - The Tesla Approach to Growth

Growth Opportunity - Autonomous Driving and Electric Mobility for Mobility Services and Ridesharing, Forecast to 2030

Growth Environment - Continuous Improvement Makes Every Tesla Model Different

Key Conclusions

5. Appendix

Partial List of Acronyms and Abbreviations Used in the Study

6. Next Steps

For more information about this company profile visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/igs1w2

Top 20 Project Management Case Studies [With Examples]

Top 20 Project Management Case Studies [With Examples]

Project management case study analyses showcase and compare real-life project management processes and systems scenarios. These studies shed light on the common challenges that project managers encounter on a daily basis. This helps project managers develop effective strategies, overcome obstacles, and achieve successful results. 

By leveraging project management case studies , organisations can optimise their operations by providing insights into the most effective approaches. With effective implementation of these case studies, strategies, and methodologies, ensuring successful project completion is achievable.

Criteria for Selection of Top 20 Case Studies

The top 20 case studies are selected based on significance, impact, challenges, project management strategies, and overall success. They provide diverse insights and lessons for project managers and organisations.

1. The Sydney Opera House Project

Ads of upGrad blog

The Sydney Opera House Project is an iconic example of project management case studies as it faced multiple challenges during its construction phase. Despite facing leadership changes, budget overruns, and design failures, the project persevered and was completed in 1973, a decade later than planned. The Opera House stands as a symbol of perseverance and successful project management in the face of humankind.

2. The Airbus A380 Project

The Airbus A380 Project is a project management case study showcasing the challenges encountered during developing and producing the world’s largest commercial aircraft. The project experienced massive delays and impacted costs of more than $6 billion, with several issues arising from the manufacturing and delivery process, outsourcing, and project coordination. 

However, the Airbus A380 was successfully launched through carefully planned project management strategies, delivering a world-class aircraft that met customer expectations.

3. The Panama Canal Expansion Project 

The Panama Canal Expansion Project serves as a compelling case study, illustrating the management’s encounters in expanding the capacity of the Panama Canal. The project included multiple stakeholders, technological innovations, environmental concerns, and safety challenges. 

4. The Boston Central Artery/Tunnel Project

The Boston Central Artery/Tunnel Project serves as a project management case study of a large-scale underground tunnel construction project. It successfully addressed traffic congestion and was completed in 2007. The project was completed in 2007, with numerous hurdles delaying progress like complexity, technology failure, ballooning budgets, media scrutiny, etc.

5. The London 2012 Olympics Project

The London 2012 Olympics Project stands as a successful project management case study, showcasing the management of a large-scale international sporting event. This project involved the construction of a new sports infrastructure, event logistics and security concerns. The project was successfully accomplished, delivering a world-class event that captivated the audience.

6. The Hoover Dam Bypass Project

The Hoover Dam Bypass Project was a construction project in the United States of America that intended to alleviate traffic from the Hoover Dam by building a new bridge. Completed in 2010, the bridge spans across the Colorado River, connecting Arizona and Nevada and offers a safer and more efficient route for motorists.

7. The Golden Gate Bridge Seismic Retrofit Project

The Golden Gate Bridge Seismic Retrofit Project is a case study example constructed in San Francisco, California. Its objective was to enhance the bridge’s resilience against earthquakes and aftershocks. Completed in 2012, the project included the installation of shock absorbers and other seismic upgrades to ensure the bridge’s safety and functionality in the event of a major earthquake.

8. The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge Project

The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge Project is a massive case study that intends to connect Hong Kong, Zhuhai and Macau with a bridge-tunnel system of 55 kilometres. Completed in 2018, the project required massive funds, investments and innovative engineering solutions, providing a new transport link and boosting regional connectivity.

Check out our  free courses  and upskill yourself.

9. The Panama Papers Investigation Project

The Panama Papers Investigation Project is a global case study of journalistic investigations into offshore tax havens. It involved leaked documents from Mossack Fonseca, a Panamanian law firm. Coordinated by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, the project resulted in major political and financial repercussions worldwide, garnering widespread media attention.

10. The Apple iPhone Development Project

The Apple iPhone Development Project started in 2004, aiming to create a groundbreaking mobile device. In 2007, the iPhone transformed the industry with its innovative touchscreen interface, sleek design, and advanced features. This project involved significant research, development, marketing, and supply chain management investments.

Learn  Management Courses  from the World’s top Universities. Earn Masters, Executive PGP, or Advanced Certificate Programs to fast-track your career.

11. The Ford Pinto Design and Launch Project

The Ford Pinto Design and Launch Project was a developmental project intended to create an affordable, fuel-efficient subcompact car. Launched in 1971, because of its fuel tank design, it became infamous for safety issues. The project was rigged for ethical and safety concerns, lawsuits, and recalls.

12. The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Response Project

The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Response Project was a response to the largest oil spill in US history, caused by an offshore drilling rig explosion in 2010. This crisis response project utilised a waterfall project management approach, where the project team followed a pattern of planning, executing, monitoring, and closing phases. 

13. The NASA Challenger Space Shuttle Disaster Project

  The NASA Challenger Disaster Project was a tragic space exploration mission in 1986, resulting in the loss of all seven crew members. Extensive investigations revealed design and safety flaws as the cause. This disaster prompted NASA to address decision-making processes and improve safety cultures.

14. The Three Gorges Dam Project

  The Three Gorges Dam Project was a large-scale infrastructure project developed in China that aimed to build the world’s largest hydroelectric dam on the Yangtze River. Completed in 2012, it encountered environmental, social, and engineering challenges. The dam currently offers power generation, flood control, and improved navigation, but it has also resulted in ecological and cultural consequences.

15. The Big Dig Project in Boston

The Big Dig Project was a transportation infrastructure project in Boston, Massachusetts, intended to replace an old elevated highway with a newer tunnel system. Completed in 2007, it serves as one of the most complex and costly construction endeavours in US history. Despite facing many delays, cost overruns and engineering challenges, the project successfully improved traffic flow and urban aesthetics but also resulted in accidents, lawsuits, and financial burdens.

Our Top Management Programs & Articles

16. The Uber Disruptive Business Model Project

  The Uber Disruptive Business Model Project was a startup that introduced a new ride business model that disrupted the taxi-cab industry by connecting riders with drivers via a mobile app. Launched in 2010, this project required innovative technology, marketing and regulatory strategies and faced legal actions and ethical challenges related to labour, safety, and competition. Uber has since then dominated the market with its ride-sharing business plan.

17. The Netflix Original Content Development Project

The Netflix Original Content Development Project was an initiative created to launch its original content for its platform. This launch by the online streaming giant in 2012 was a huge success for the company. The project required huge investments in content creation, distribution and marketing and resulted in award-winning shows and films that redefined the entire entertainment industry’s business model.

18. The Tesla Electric Car Project

The Tesla Electric Car Project was a revolutionary project that aimed to compete for its electric vehicles with gasoline-powered vehicles. The project required a strong project management plan that incorporated innovation, sustainability, and stakeholder engagement, resulting in the successful launch of the Tesla Roadster in 2008 and subsequent models. Tesla has one-handedly revolutionised the entire automobile industry on its own. 

19. The Johnson & Johnson Tylenol Crisis Management Project:

The Johnson & Johnson Tylenol Crisis Management Project was a case study in crisis management in 1982. The project required quick and effective decision-making skills, stakeholder communication, and ethical leadership in response to the tampering of Tylenol capsules that led to deaths. 

20. The Airbnb Online Marketplace Platform Project  

The Airbnb Online Marketplace Platform Project was a startup that created an online platform which connected travellers with hosts offering short-term rental accommodations in flights. The project required innovative technology, user experience design and stakeholder management. Airbnb’s success has led to the disruption of the hospitality industry and inspired many other project case study examples of sharing economy platforms.

Explore our Popular Management Courses

Future developments in project management.

Future developments in project management include all the insights on the increased use of artificial intelligence, agile methodologies, hybrid project management approaches, and emphasis on sustainability and social responsibility, along with many more developing ideas that will address the evolving market innovations. 

Key Takeaways from the Case Studies

The project management case study examples illustrate real-life examples and the importance of project management in achieving project success. The cases show the use of innovative technologies, tools, techniques, stakeholder engagement, crisis management, and agile methodologies. 

Project Management also highlights the role of ethical leadership and social responsibility in project management. To learn more and more about case studies, upGrad, India’s leading education platform, has offered an Advanced General Management Program from IMT Ghaziabad that will equip you with in-demand management skills to keep up with the changing trends!

Profile

Keerthi Shivakumar

Something went wrong

Our Trending Management Courses

  • PG Programme in Management - Duration 11 Months
  • Post Graduate Diploma in Management - Duration 2 Years

Management Skills to Master

  • Consumer Behavior Courses
  • Supply Chain Management Courses
  • Financial Analysis Courses
  • Introduction to FinTech Courses
  • Introduction to HR Analytics Courses
  • Fundamentals of Communication Courses
  • Art of Effective Communication Courses
  • Introduction to Research Methodology Courses
  • Business Communication Courses
  • Mastering Sales Technique Courses
  • Fundamentals of Journalism Courses
  • Economics Masterclass Online Courses
  • Microeconomics Online Courses

Our Popular Management Course

Management

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Project Management is extensive planning, executing, monitoring and closing of a project before its deadline. Project management ensures accuracy and efficiency across all organs of a project, right from its inception to its completion.

Project Management case studies are real-life examples of projects to put an insight into all the tools, techniques and methodologies it provides.

The role of a project manager is to ensure that all day-to-day responsibilities are being met by the resources deployed in a certain project. They have the authority to manage as well as lead the functioning members as well.

Related Programs View All

Certification

16 Hrs Live Expert-Led Sessions

14 Case Studies, 3 Mock Tests

View Program

tesla project management case study

Master's Degree

Dual Credentials

tesla project management case study

Job Assistance

16+ Hrs Expert-Led Sessions

5 Simulation Exams, 8 Mock Tests

24 Hrs Live Expert-Led Training

Earn 24 PDUs and 24 SEUs

36 Hrs Live Expert-Led Training

Premium 2000+ Question Bank

32 Hrs Live Expert-Led Training

Earn 32 PDUs and SEUs

tesla project management case study

Complimentary On-Demand Course

1 Year SAFe® Community Membership

88 Hours On-Demand Learning

Training by top CSTs

16 Hrs Live Expert-Led Training

Earn 16 PDUs and 16 SEUs

tesla project management case study

AACSB accredited

Training by Top-Notch SPCs

tesla project management case study

3 Day Leadership Summit in Dubai

tesla project management case study

Ivy League School

tesla project management case study

Executive PG Program

Offline Campus Experience

tesla project management case study

PG Certification

6-10.5 Months

2500+ Students Enrolled

tesla project management case study

EQUIS & AMBA Accredited

tesla project management case study

Executive Coaching

Simulations, 5 Mock Tests

tesla project management case study

Instructor Led Model

16-Hrs Live Expert-Led Sessions

Earn 16 SEUs and 16 PDUs

16+ Hrs Expert-Led Training

tesla project management case study

AMBA, AACSB & NIRF Accreditation

24+ Hrs Expert-Led Sessions

Simulation Exams, 24 PDUs

35 Hrs Live Expert-Led Training

35 PD Hrs, 35 CDUs & 35 PDUs

24-Hrs Live Expert-Led Sessions

Activities and Case Studies

8+ Hrs Expert-Led Sessions

Interactive Sessions, Activities

36+ Expert-Led Training

5 Simulation Exams, Projects

21 Hrs Live Expert-Led Training

Earn 21 CDUs and 21 PDUs

2-Day Live Expert-led Training

Simulations, 4 Mock Tests

16 Hours of Instructor-Led Sessions

Simulation Exams and Mock Tests

Earn 16 PDUs and 16 SEUs

24-Hrs Live Expert-Led Training

Earn 24 SEUs and 24 PDUs

Explore Free Courses

Study Abroad Free Course

Learn more about the education system, top universities, entrance tests, course information, and employment opportunities in Canada through this course.

Marketing

Advance your career in the field of marketing with Industry relevant free courses

Data Science & Machine Learning

Build your foundation in one of the hottest industry of the 21st century

Management

Master industry-relevant skills that are required to become a leader and drive organizational success

Technology

Build essential technical skills to move forward in your career in these evolving times

Career Planning

Get insights from industry leaders and career counselors and learn how to stay ahead in your career

Law

Kickstart your career in law by building a solid foundation with these relevant free courses.

Chat GPT + Gen AI

Stay ahead of the curve and upskill yourself on Generative AI and ChatGPT

Soft Skills

Build your confidence by learning essential soft skills to help you become an Industry ready professional.

Study Abroad Free Course

Learn more about the education system, top universities, entrance tests, course information, and employment opportunities in USA through this course.

Suggested Blogs

Management Process: Definition, Features & Functions

by Kamal Jacob

19 May 2024

What is The Nature and Scope of Management?

by Nitin Gurmukhani

Salary after BBA: BBA Salaries in India [For Freshers & Experienced in 2023]

05 Mar 2024

What are Motivation Theories? Top 5 Motivation Theories Explained

by Keerthi Shivakumar

23 Jan 2024

Career Development in HRM: Meaning, Stages, Process, Skills

24 Sep 2023

Disaster Management Project Ideas & Topics in 2024

15 Sep 2023

What is On the Job Training? Importance, Function and Types

14 Sep 2023

Tools of Financial Statement Analysis: Objectives, Techniques, Types

04 Sep 2023

Decision Making in Management: Importance, Types and Steps

24 Aug 2023

Big 3 with Dean H. Rao Unnava: May 2024

SIEML Previews B-School | Poets&Quants Honors Two UC Davis MBAs | Elon Musk to Tesla's Supercharger Team: You're Fired!

  • May 31, 2024
  • H. Rao Unnava

tesla project management case study

Dean H. Rao Unnava's May 2024 edition of the Big 3 features:

UC's Summer Institute for Emerging Managers and Leaders

Delaware State University student Nye Smarr joined 50 talented undergrads from 18 Hispanic Serving Institutions and 17 Historically Black Colleges and Universities at UC Davis for SIEML, a two-week immersive business and career leadership experience backed by all six UC business schools.  Read her blog >

Poets&Quants Honors Two UC Davis MBAs among Best & Brightest 

We congratulate Ryan Wilson and Tess Sussman honored among Poets&Quants’ top 100 Best & Brightest MBAs globally. Tess is an NCAA Women's Basketball player and Ryan is a U.S. Army veteran who served in Afghanistan. Poets&Quants received 226 nominations from 74 business schools. Read about Tess Sussman & Ryan Wilson

Elon Musk to Tesla's Supercharger Team: You're Fired! Crazy? But Why? 

When Elon Musk surprisingly fired Tesla's 500-member Supercharger team, it threatened California's plans to open up Tesla's Superchargers to all electric vehicles. Distinguished Professor Hemant Bhargava, an expert on the EV platform market, offers three ways to understand Musk’s move. Read blog >

Thank you for watching this month's Big 3.

Video Transcript

  • We just hosted the University of California’s Summer Institute for Emerging Leaders and Managers
  • Poets&Quants has honored two of our MBAs among the Best & Brightest
  • Why did Elon Musk recently fire Tesla’s Supercharger team?

Welcome to the May 2024 edition of the Big 3 video newsletter.

UC's Summer Institute for Emerging Managers and Leaders at UC Davis

The past two weeks we hosted a select group of 50 undergraduate students at this year’s Summer Institute for Emerging Managers and Leaders. Known as SIEML, the program was launched in 2012 and has the power of the University of California system behind it.

These talented underrepresented students came to UC Davis from 18 Hispanic Serving Institutions and 17 Historically Black Colleges and Universities. They are interested in pursuing graduate management education and invited to attend because of their leadership potential and markers of success.

Faculty and staff from the six UC business schools teamed up on this year’s 10-day program that featured lectures, workshops, activities, fun times and competitions. 

On a day trip to San Francisco, students visited the Chase Center, the home of the NBA’s Golden State Warriors, where they heard from a high-level panel on careers in sports management.

SIEML alumni who are admitted into a UC graduate business program are offered fellowships.

We hope to see some of these undergraduates back at UC Davis in the future to earn a master’s degree.

We’re thrilled that two UC Davis Full-Time MBA students have been recognized among Poets&Quants’ 2024 Best & Brightest MBAs.

We congratulate Full-Time MBA students Ryan Wilson and Tess Sussman.

This is the first time that both our nominees have been included among the media company’s top 100 students at elite MBA programs worldwide.

A student-athlete, Tess graduated from Harvard where she played NCAA Women’s Basketball. As a UC Davis MBA she joined as captain of the UC Davis Aggies Women’s Basketball team and has excelled on and off the court.

Tess is passionate about healthcare management. She has taken advantage of our Biotechnology Industry Immersion experience. Last summer she interned as a Senior Associate at Clarion, a life sciences consultancy, in Boston, her home state.

Ryan is a U.S. Army veteran who served in Afghanistan. He serves as president of our student Veterans Association and is an advocate for veteran support.

Ryan interned as a Senior Financial Analyst for Intel.

Most recently he acquired a fleet services company and now serves as CEO of the newly formed WilsonTech Services, offering military-grade fleet management for the Sacramento Region

Now in its 10th year, Poets&Quants’ Best & Brightest MBAs recognition is highly competitive. They received 226 nominations from 74 U.S. and international business schools. Candidates were judged on their extracurricular leadership, personal excellence, and the insightfulness of their responses and recommendations.

Congratulations again to Tess and Ryan.

Elon Musk Fires Tesla's Supercharger Team. Crazy? But Why?

The electric vehicle market is fundamentally a platform business. A robust supercharger network is vital to convince customers to buy an electric vehicle. 

Tesla is the only EV-maker that implemented a smart charging network strategy, and Tesla's Supercharger network has been pivotal to its success in selling cars.

Distinguished Professor Hemant Bhargava has written extensively on the EV market. In Harvard Business Review, Hemant explained how Tesla’s charging stations left other manufacturers in the dust. Despite billions in investments, none of the major automakers seems to pose much of a threat to Tesla.

Hemant calls Tesla the number one gas station for the electric vehicle industry.

So when Tesla’s Elon Musk surprisingly fired the entire 500 member Supercharger team this month, it threatened California's plans to open up Tesla's Superchargers to all electric vehicles.

Hemant offered three ways to understand and rationalize Musk’s move:

  • Musk is decisive and authoritative. Tesla has multiple ways it could execute on opening up its superchargers to rivals and needs new ideas.
  • Musk is a mercurial leader. He fired this team one day, but he might bring some of them back! He did that at Twitter (X).
  • Musk needs a new, more agile team with a different skill set.

Hemant sees merit to all three arguments but thinks number three is the strongest. 

Thank you for watching this month’s Big 3!

Related content

Nye Smarr and Austin Claiborne

Emotional Intelligence and Design Thinking: How SIEML at UC Davis Sparked My Drive for an MBA

Empowering others through financial literacy and personal development

Full-Time MBA student Tess Sussman

Tess Sussman Honored among Poets&Quants' 2024 Best & Brightest MBAs

Tesla Supercharger

Tesla Fires Its Supercharger Team. Crazy? But Why?

UC Davis blue background

One Shields Avenue Davis, CA 95616 (530) 752-7658

Copyright ©2024 The Regents of the University of California, Davis campus. All rights reserved.

Request More Information

By submitting this form, you agree to UC Davis terms & conditions . UC Davis will use your personal data to help provide a better website experience and to support other UC Davis communications. Please have a look at the UC Davis privacy policy for more information on how we use your data.

IMAGES

  1. Tesla Case Study Management Princple Assignment

    tesla project management case study

  2. Tesla case study

    tesla project management case study

  3. Project Management Case Studies

    tesla project management case study

  4. Tesla Case Study Strategy

    tesla project management case study

  5. Tesla Case Study Strategy

    tesla project management case study

  6. Tesla Case Study

    tesla project management case study

VIDEO

  1. New upgrade project for Tesla model 3 highland! Docking station with gearshift.#teslamods #teshouse

  2. Jamie Oliver

  3. Comparative Case Study of Green Energy Company

  4. Project Management: Case Study of Out and Performance Based Road Contract

  5. Data Analytics in Agile Project Management

  6. A&D High Tech (A): Managing Projects for Success Case Study Analysis

COMMENTS

  1. Lessons from Tesla's Approach to Innovation

    Summary. Tesla has shifted the auto industry toward electric vehicles, achieved consistently growing revenues, and at the start of 2020 was the highest-performing automaker in terms of total ...

  2. Tesla Change Management Case Study

    Tesla Change Management Case Study. Tahir Abbas April 28, 2023. From smartphones to self-driving cars, technology is constantly changing and evolving the way we interact with the world. Tesla is a company that has become synonymous with innovation and disruption in the automotive industry. Over the years, Tesla has undergone significant ...

  3. Project Management in Tesla's Gigafactory Construction: Scaling

    The construction of Tesla's Gigafactories is a remarkable case study in project management. It encapsulates the challenges of scaling production, integrating pioneering technologies, and ...

  4. Tesla: Business & Operating Model Evolution (Abridged)

    This case study traces Tesla's ascent from an ambitious startup to the world's leading electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer, highlighting its innovative evolution in business and operating models. Guided by Elon Musk's strategic vision, Tesla began with high-end electric sports cars, using this foundation to develop more accessible models ...

  5. Tesla's Gigafactory Construction: A Model of Effective Project Management!

    Tesla Case Study: Complete Assessment of Social/Organizational Culture, Leadership, Teams, Communication,Talent/Knowledge Management & Recommendations Bianca Cardenas, PhD 2y

  6. Case study: How Tesla changed the auto industry

    Between January and September 2017, Tesla led the pack by selling 73,227 EVs, followed by Chinese automaker BYD, selling 69,094. Brian Loh, a partner at McKinsey&Company, said innovation is at an "all-time high" in the auto industry right now, which is significant because historically, the auto industry is very slow to evolve.

  7. Tesla Motors: A case study in disruptive innovation

    Tesla Motors: A case study in disruptive innovation. Tesla Motors broke the mold. Then reinvented it. Not only did Tesla Chief Executive and Chief Product Architect Elon Musk demonstrate that convention could be defied, he did it in an industry with 100-year-old traditions, norms, and processes.

  8. Tesla Has Applied Agile Software Development To Automotive

    Tesla does not wait to roll out improvements. It has instead applied the tenets of agile development to its automotive design and manufacturing processes, and in the process, it has revolutionized ...

  9. Tesla, Inc.

    The case is set in January 2020 and the case protagonist is Elon Musk, co-founder and CEO of Tesla, Inc., a fully integrated sustainable energy and transportation company. The case sets up real-world, factual problems that Elon Musk and Tesla face, including how to scale-up production profitably while launching several new models at the same time. Future demand in Tesla's key markets-the ...

  10. A case study on Tesla, Inc : The world's most exciting Automobile

    Mar 24, 2020. 1. T homas Edison's lightbulb ushered out the gaslight era as completely as it ushered in the age of electric power. But the gas companies didn't fall victim to disruption ...

  11. (PDF) Tesla Inc Managment Report

    Tesla, In c 's (for merly Tesla Motors, In c.) management lev el controls, gui des the func tions of the organization and also supports c ontinuous busi ness growth. In this man agement analysis ...

  12. Case Study Tesla

    In this Video we explore the power of innovation with our agile case study about Tesla. Learn why Tesla is such an innovative company and see how the are abl...

  13. New case study takes up Tesla's entry into the auto industry

    Download the case study [ASPX] "Prior to Tesla, no domestic manufacturer had entered the U.S. automotive market at scale since the Second World War," said Donald Sull, a senior lecturer in innovation and entrepreneurship at MIT Sloan and one of the case study's co-authors. "This case, which includes rich data on the industry, customers ...

  14. Final group project g

    Final project mgmt 1120 tesla inc.: strategic partnerships for growth northern alberta institute of technology jr shaw school of business edmonton, alberta. ... SWOT TESLA; Management case study from fur to fendi 7; Two Tier - Individual Case Study; Timberland - Individual Case Study; Nike - Spreading Out to Win the Race. Case Study (Grade 85%)

  15. Strategic Analysis of Tesla's Product Portfolio and Connected

    This study analyzes Tesla's Connected, Autonomous, Shared, and Electrified (CASE) strategies. It assesses the key features and talking points of the company's growth strategies, including (but not ...

  16. Tesla's Operations Management: 10 Decision Areas, Productivity

    Tesla's Operations Management, 10 Decision Areas. 1. Design of Goods and Services. In this strategic decision area, operations managers focus on how the organization's products influence costs, quality objectives, and resources. In this company analysis case, Tesla addresses these concerns through concurrent innovation, which involves ...

  17. Tesla Inc. Dealing with Risk and Uncertainty Case Study

    Tesla is most suitable for discussing such an important thing from an economic point of view as dealing with risk and uncertainty, especially given the recent crisis episodes in the global economy. Tesla Inc. is a large automotive and energy company, established relatively recently in 2003 and located in Palo Alto, California (Tesla, 2021).

  18. Competition and Valuation: A Case Study of Tesla Motors

    Overall, the company had over 100,000 competent personnel by the year 2020. According to a study, Tesla's technological innovations and well-known brand helped the EV industry in China grow [1 ...

  19. How Agile Works at Tesla

    Abstract: DX, or Digital Transformation. Joe shared DX, or Digital Transformation, the agile operating system for TeslaSpeed—a term coined by the EU Commission to talk about how fast Tesla moves and how fast they need to move now. The 12-step DX process brings companies from where they are now toward their manifest destiny.

  20. Tesla: Business & Operating Model Evolution

    Tesla was founded in 2003 on the mission to accelerate the world's transition to sustainable transport through the production and sale of electric vehicles. The scope of this mission required staged business model development, beginning with low-volume production of a high-priced electric sports car and moving down-market gradually to produce ...

  21. Tesla Case Study

    Get resources to help you break into your dream job: https://managementconsulted.com/consulting-prep-resources/Welcome to this Tesla case study. Tesla is a f...

  22. Tesla's Product Portfolio and CASE Strategies Report 2020: Investments

    Dublin, June 03, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Strategic Analysis of Tesla's Product Portfolio and Connected, Autonomous, Shared, and Electrified (CASE) Strategies, 2025" company profile has been ...

  23. Top 20 Project Management Case Studies [With Examples]

    The Opera House stands as a symbol of perseverance and successful project management in the face of humankind. 2. The Airbus A380 Project. The Airbus A380 Project is a project management case study showcasing the challenges encountered during developing and producing the world's largest commercial aircraft.

  24. Big 3 with Dean H. Rao Unnava: May 2024

    Dean H. Rao Unnava's May 2024 edition of the Big 3 features: UC's Summer Institute for Emerging Managers and Leaders. Delaware State University student Nye Smarr joined 50 talented undergrads from 18 Hispanic Serving Institutions and 17 Historically Black Colleges and Universities at UC Davis for SIEML, a two-week immersive business and career leadership experience backed by all six UC ...

  25. IT Modernization of Right-of-Way Management Technology

    The Salesforce right-of-way management tool had the following functionalities: In the last stages of this IT modernization project, Guidehouse mapped and migrated all data from the client's legacy parcel management system, connected the system to the existing SharePoint site for easier file sharing, and facilitated change management ...