In July 2023, the world-famous electric car manufacturer, the American company Tesla, celebrated its 20th year of existence in the international automobile market.
- What is Tesla automobile corporation?
- Electric vehicle production in the USA before Tesla
- Education and development of Tesla
- Overcoming difficulties on the path to success of the Tesla brand
- The creators of Tesla
- Tesla logo and company name
- Tesla statistics and financial indicators
- Secrets of successful promotion of Tesla Corporation
- Key advantages of Tesla brand electric vehicles
- Marketing tools used by Tesla
- Roadster - Tesla's very first electric car
- Assortment line of Tesla Motors cars
- Interesting facts about the Tesla brand
- All products of Tesla holding
- Plans for the release of new products
Based on the results of the current annual period, this corporation took a leading position in terms of capitalization among other competing brands in its activity segment. It confidently outperformed the leading Japanese automaker Toyota in this indicator.
What is the secret of Tesla’s incredible success and how was it achieved? It is worth objectively considering all the real aspects and facts of such a rapid development and promotion of this holding.
What is Tesla automobile corporation?
Many world experts often draw a comparative analogy of the rapid success of this corporation with a high-tech “financial pyramid”. Most of them consider the Tesla brand to be the key to the future development of an environmentally friendly, progressive “green” industry.
Tesla was founded by software engineers Mark Tarpenning and Martin Eberhard. This event occurred in 2003 on July 1 in the American state of California, the city of San Carlos. The company was named after the great physicist Nikola Tesla.
The company’s priority was to produce electric vehicles at an affordable price, designed for everyday driving.
The headquarters of Tesla Corporation today is located in California. Its CEO is Elon Musk, a world-famous billionaire. The key specialization of the holding is the production of electric cars of the Tesla brand, from the sale of which it earns more than any competing global brand.
Electric vehicle production in the USA before Tesla
By 1915, the number of electric vehicles in the United States had increased significantly. For example, in Chicago alone their number was already approximately four thousand. At the same time, practically silent and environmentally friendly cars were most in demand among the female population. This is also due to the fairly easy maneuverability and control of this machine. To travel a distance of up to 120 km, just one electric recharge of the engine was enough.
Until the mid-20th century, electric cars were produced by three well-known automobile corporations – Anderson Electric Car, Baker Motor Vehicle Co and Milburn Wagon Co. Such transport was predicted to have a successful future.
Electric cars dominated until 1908. Then fundamental changes occurred in the automotive industry. The Ford Model was released, which became an innovative automobile unit that ran on gasoline fuel.
The demand for this vehicle was due to its more affordable price (up to US $700) compared to electric vehicles (their minimum price was approximately US $1800).
Education and development of Tesla
The founders of the Tesla automobile holding, Martin Eberhard and Mark Tarpenning, had been friends for many years before creating this brand. They owned a joint business, which had to be closed because it did not generate enough profit.
In 1997, Martin Eberhard had the opportunity to test a Tzepo car from AC Propulsion, which was powered by a lead-acid battery. This model was unique at that time. There were no such analogues in the world.
The capabilities and technical characteristics of this machine greatly impressed Martin. As a result, he decided to invest in the AC Propulsion company to modernize Tzepo brand cars. The idea was to produce an exclusive electric vehicle based on this car, rechargeable from a unique lithium-ion battery.
However, it was not possible to carry out mass production of the modernized Tzepo car. After retrofitting the electric motor, the cost of this vehicle was more than US $200,000.
But this factor did not affect the two friends’ refusal to plan to found a joint business to produce electric vehicles. In the spring of 2003, the friends finally turned their idea into reality. Tarpenning registered his own domain – teslamotors.com. Official website of the company tesla.com
However, they did not have the necessary experience and skills in automobile production. For this reason, businessmen decided to specialize only in the assembly stage of electric cars and their sales. At the same time, all necessary components and spare parts were supposed to be purchased from the world’s largest automotive brands.
To be able to develop the first project car, Tesla needed to invest US $7 million. This startup was obtained by attracting a third-party investor to the business project – engineer-inventor Ian Wright.
After a certain period of time, the company added one more employee. He became the millionaire and president of SpaseX corporation Elon Musk, who is known as the co-founder of PayPal and the developer of Falcon rocket launchers.
He became interested in the project of the Tesla co-founders and invested almost US $7 million in it. At the same time, Elon Musk was appointed to the position of president of the board of directors of Tesla Corporation.
Since 2006, there has been a trend of active growth of the Tesla brand:
- 2006 (July) – the first presentation of the Roadster electric car model was held at a car exhibition in California. The presented capabilities of this car have received successful and resonant recognition in the international community. This ensured the maximum influx of investment for the company. For example, the Google holding financed the serial production of Roadster brand electric cars over US $100 million.
- 2010 (June) – Tesla Corporation placed its own shares on the Nasdaq US stock exchange. Due to this, she was given access to the largest financial sources.
- 2012 (summer) – the presentation of the next serial electric car of the brand Tesla Model S with a maximum driving range from the recharging battery of 426 km took place.
- 2014 (June) – the company officially announced that everyone would be allowed to use its patents.
- 2014 (autumn) – a bright presentation of the semi-autonomous driving system Autopilot Tesla.
- 2015 (autumn) – the arrival of the Model X into the company’s showrooms, presented in the form of a large SUV equipped with an electric motor and front doors with automatic opening mode. This vehicle became the very first car assembled at the company’s own plant located in the US state of California.
- 2017 (January) – the beginning of the sale of sedans equipped with an electric motor Model 3. This vehicle at that time was considered the most budget electric car of the Tesla brand. Its starting price is US $35,000. This car with a driving range of up to 354 km was assembled in California.
- 2017 (spring) – presentation by Elon Musk of a project to develop a production model of a truck equipped with an electric motor (the first in the world).
- 2019 (March) – the electric car of the brand Model Y was enchantingly presented. At the same time, Tesla bought out the battery manufacturing holding company Maxwell.
- 2020 (November) – joint foundation with other 26 US corporations of the ZETA company, specializing in propaganda activities for the transition to electric-powered transport in various areas of people’s lives.
- 2021 (October) – the capitalization indicator reached more than US $1 trillion. – this event occurred for the first time in the entire history of the corporation.
- 2022 – gross revenue increased by 65%, operating margin increased accordingly.
Currently, the Tesla automobile company is considered the largest, wealthiest and most successful global manufacturer of electric cars.
Overcoming difficulties on the path to success of the Tesla brand
The difficult and controversial path to the pinnacle of success of the Tesla holding began with the presentation of the Roadster car model.
A large number of the world’s largest holdings and billionaires left check orders for advances at Tesla stands, amounting to hundreds of thousands of dollars, in order to obtain the owner’s rights to a patent for an innovative vehicle. This came as a big surprise to the company’s management, as they did not foresee this situation.
The launch of the Roadster model was suspended from 2007 to 2008. For its serial production, it was necessary to organize a completely different updated transmission. In addition, the board of directors decided to begin construction of a new battery production plant.
This decision by the company’s management subsequently turned out to be a complete failure, as the cost of the electric vehicle increased significantly from the estimated figure of US $68,000 to the actual price of US $200,000.
Elon Musk considered one of the founders of the company, Eberhard, to be the culprit for this situation. In his opinion, he completely lost control over the production process and deliberately hid the presence of problematic issues from the other co-founders of the corporation. As a result of a unanimous decision of the board of directors, Eberhard was removed from his position as president of Tesla. This post was transferred to Elon Musk in 2008.
The new leader, in order to overcome the crisis, specifically chose a tough political direction in the management sector. He intended in this way to delay the bankruptcy and collapse of the company. To optimize the current difficult situation, Elon Musk even invested huge sums from his own accounts into the holding.
According to Musk, serial production of the latest electric car model, accessible to Americans with average incomes, would help immediately correct all the problematic issues with bringing the corporation out of the crisis.
This idea became a reality by 2012 with the release of the newest Tesla Model S. It quickly gained popularity among consumers and was able to meet all the planned expectations of the corporation’s management team.
In 2014, the company launched the production and sale of an affordable electric vehicle (US $35,000) Model 3, thereby consolidating its successful position in the automotive market.
The subsequent period in the corporation is marked by a decrease in losses, an increase in income and an increase in sales volumes. Even skeptical experts have an opinion about the further successful promotion of the Tesla brand.
The creators of Tesla
Many consider entrepreneur Elon Musk to be the founder of the Tesla holding. The company was founded in 2003. It was officially created and registered by two friends who were engineers by profession – Mark Tarpenning and Martin Eberhard.
However, most experts in the field of political science and economics say that a successful startup in terms of recognition and successful promotion of this brand would not have succeeded without Elon Musk joining the management staff and his investment in the company of large sums of US $7.5 million.
Tesla logo and company name
The Tesla automobile corporation received this name in honor of the greatest physicist Nikola Tesla. During the era of his existence, he was often called the “lord of lightning” or “tamer of light.” Thanks to his revolutionary scientific projects, the entire world was electrified.
For this reason, the founders of the holding decided to give their company producing electric vehicles a name in honor of this outstanding scientist who managed to discover the unique possibilities of electricity for humanity.
The company’s logo was chosen to be a futuristic letter symbol “T”, made in a style designed to express the automotive holding’s commitment to innovative and progressive technologies.
The logo was developed by RO Studio. She created symbols for the SpaceX corporation, also owned by Elon Musk.
After the official presentation of the Tesla logo, rumors appeared on the Internet that this symbol resembles a cat’s nose. Elon Musk first confirmed these speculations as a joke, and then denied them. In reality, the letter symbol “T” was chosen due to its external similarity with the cross-section of the cross-section of an electric power power device.
At first, the logo was placed against the background of the shield, but later they decided to remove it, thus optimizing the perception of the symbolic sign. Since that period, the design of the company’s logo has remained the same.
Tesla statistics and financial indicators
The high effectiveness of the marketing strategy and financial activities of this holding is more clearly demonstrated by digital data:
- As of mid-2021, Tesla’s share price was US $733.57.
- According to the final reports for 2020, the corporation’s income amounted to US $31.536 billion, thus making a profit of US $721 million for the first time.
- In 2020, on September 9, due to the collapse of Tesla securities, the company was at a loss, losing US $16.3 billion in one day.
- The driving range of Tesla brand electric vehicles on one charge is 442-502 km.
- The price of the Model 3 budget car was US $35,000.
- It will take no more than half an hour to fully recharge the electric motor of Tesla cars.
- Based on the operating conditions of the machine, only 6 spare parts are subject to service and replacement – 2 windshield wipers and 4 car wheels.
- As of June 2021, the financial assets of the Tesla holding reached US $28.4 billion.
- At the initial stage of the corporation’s activities, Elon Musk invested the most in its successful promotion – over US $70 million, received through the sale of his own share of the PayPal holding company.
- Total sales of electric vehicles in 2021 amounted to more than 400,000 units.
The rapid development of the popularity of Tesla electric vehicles was also facilitated by the decision of the company’s management about the possibility of purchasing cars for bitcoins, which was officially announced by Elon Musk in the spring of 2021.
Secrets of successful promotion of Tesla Corporation
The main merit of this company is the development and use of the latest generation lithium-ion batteries. But today there are about 20 global companies on the international market that produce electric vehicles that are not inferior in technical characteristics to Tesla brand products.
The fundamental aspects that determine the success of Tesla are:
- Availability of an innovative financial asset. This concept is defined by experts as the presence of effective methods for obtaining investments intended for the production of new modern products. One of them includes public statements by Musk, currently considered the most authoritative and quoted global top manager.
- Development and promotion of related products that help increase sales and lead the brand’s products in the international automotive market. These products include Tesla brand ecosystem add-on products – software, charging stations, solar batteries and batteries.
- Skills in anticipating the needs and desires of customers – Tesla managed not only to successfully join the “green industrial revolution”, but even to become the head of its target audience. A complete transition to green electricity is the biggest need that is preferred by the modern user. The American brand Tesla, which produces electric cars, is ready to satisfy this demand.
Key advantages of Tesla brand electric vehicles
According to data obtained by the consulting corporation Strategic Vision, Tesla cars are considered the most popular and in demand in the US automobile market.
American consumers appreciated the excellent technical characteristics of these electric vehicles.
In addition, Tesla brand cars have other important advantages:
- Unique and original appearance – Tesla cars are distinguished by a memorable and exclusive design that sets them apart from other car brands. They look stylish and excellent.
- Pronounced dynamics – the high-speed acceleration mode of Tesla electric vehicles surpasses even sports cars in its parameters. It reaches 100 km/h in literally seconds.
- Minimal number of mechanical components – electric vehicles do not have transmissions or internal combustion engines, which require periodic repair and maintenance work.
- Uncomplicated and comfortable control – almost all functional modes can be controlled using a specially designed touchpad.
In addition, it is necessary to note the almost silent movement of vehicles equipped with an electric motor. For lovers of silence inside the car while driving, Tesla electric cars are an ideal option.
Marketing tools used by Tesla
In order to attract as many target consumers as possible, the corporation uses several key traffic channels:
- Regular test drives. The company’s management provides every potential buyer with the opportunity to use the test drive service to convince themselves of the highest level of safety, excellent comfort and the most uncomplicated operation of Tesla cars.
- Active online sales. In America you can buy a car of this brand in just a few clicks in a matter of seconds. The buyer only needs to go to the Tesla website, select the appropriate brand of car, select additional options for it, pay the deposit amount and agree with the manager on the exact delivery date of the car. These are, in fact, all the action algorithms.
- Emphasis on environmental friendliness. By purchasing electric cars from this holding, the buyer makes his choice in favor of choosing a car with environmental safety. Such a machine does not pollute the external space, since there are no exhaust gases in it. This especially stands out against the backdrop of today’s popularity of such topics as “green industry”. This marketing strategy is considered to be the most profitable.
- Location of stores exclusively in central city areas. The company adheres to a strategy that consists of locating its own retail stores only in the city center. While many dealerships are located on the outskirts of the city. This solution is used by the Tesla holding in order to create maximum opportunities for potential buyers to test electric vehicles.
- Own retail facilities. Tesla adheres to the priority principle of working without intermediaries and dealers. It prefers to sell its products through its own stores, delivering cars directly from the factory assembly line.
- Promotion through online platforms. The corporation constantly rewards owners of electric vehicles for creating various Tesla thematic clubs and communicating on their forums. On the pages of social networks, the corporation posts information and videos with test drives of electric cars, presentations of the latest models and various publications about the benefits of electric cars for the environment.
- Optimal positioning. The holding presents itself from the perspective of the brand of the future. During promotional events, its management tries to convey to the audience the benefits of innovative technologies.
- Exclusive distribution system. Tesla Corporation does not use classic product sales options. She prefers to use her own unique marketing tools.
- Making cars exclusively to order. All machines are produced by pre-order only. It is not possible to purchase cars in retail cash at retail outlets.
- No discounts. This is a fundamental decision for the brand. The doctrine of strictly fixed prices is applied, in which retail stores are prohibited from reducing or increasing the cost of products according to their own preferences.
It is worth understanding that the Tesla brand is not the only company producing electric vehicles today, but it is considered the most popular in this category.
Roadster – Tesla’s very first electric car
The development of the first electric car of the Tesla brand began in 2004. The presentation of its prototype took place in 2006, and mass production started only in 2008.
Main technical characteristics of the Roadster electric car:
- The recharging period for a full battery cycle is 3.5 hours.
- The driving range on a single charge is 393 km.
- Maximum speed limit – 201 km/h.
- For optimal acceleration to 100 km/h it will take 4 seconds.
- The price of the electric car is stated by the manufacturer at US $110,000.
- Tesla battery power indicator is 11 kW.
The company was able to sell only a few dozen electric vehicles of the Roadster model, despite a brilliant PR campaign and great interest from the consumer audience.
The management team of Tesla Corporation decided to develop a more advanced model of this car, taking into account all the mistakes that were made when designing the first generation of such an electric car.
Assortment line of Tesla Motors cars
The collection of electric cars, in addition to the Roadster, includes the following Tesla car models:
- Model S is a premium sedan. The car went on sale in 2012. Its minimum cost is US $75,750.
- Model X is an electric crossover with a maximum speed acceleration of up to 250 km/h. The cost of a car with standard equipment is US $81,200.
- Model 3 is the very first budget car of Tesla Corporation. Entered for implementation in 2017. The cost of the car is US $35,000. It is capable of accelerating to a speed of 100 km/h in a time period of 5.6 seconds. The maximum speed limit is 225 km/h.
- Semi is the very first electric freight transport in world history. It has the ability to travel up to 800 km on a single charge and accelerate to a speed of 100 km in 5 seconds. Price – from US $150 thousand
- Cybertruck is a pickup truck with a range of 640 km, which accelerates to 100 km/h in 2.9 seconds.
The presentation of the latest model of the Model Y electric crossover is expected in the near future.
Interesting facts about the Tesla brand
The presentation of each new model of Tesla Corporation is always actively discussed on forums on social networks, giving rise to many rumors and speculations.
We invite you to familiarize yourself with reliable little-known facts about Tesla and the features of its products:
- Tesla brand electric vehicles do not have gearboxes or ignition keys. The car is switched on independently when its owner approaches directly, while automatically setting the optimal driving speed.
- On Tesla’s factory lines, the assembly stages are carried out by approximately 50 automatic robots. The largest models got their name as prototypes of the X-Men comic book characters.
- The very first advertising slogan of the company is “we burn rubber, not gasoline.”
- Electric cars of the Tesla brand are equipped with the latest filtration system that can withstand almost any biological weapon and the apocalypse (according to Elon Musk).
- Tesla Autopilot is developed based on innovative artificial intelligence technology and machine learning. Due to this, the electric car optimizes management skills with each new trip.
- When you press the autopilot button 4 times in a row, the road surface on the menu bar will be displayed in a rainbow form.
- It is impossible to drive Tesla electric cars across the Brooklyn Bridge because the vehicle weighs more than 3 tons.
- Mercedes models are displayed on the display of Tesla cars as waste baskets.
- The electric vehicle has the ability to remember a permanent or frequent route, with the suspension adjusted in strict accordance with the main characteristics and features of the road surface.
- In six American states, the sale of Tesla electric vehicles is considered illegal due to the marketing vehicles used by the company. In these states, there is a ban on the sale of cars that come to dealerships directly from the assembly line, excluding dealers. Tesla holding sells cars through its stores.
- A small number of the company’s shares are offered for sale on the Nasdaq trading exchange, so investors are constantly arguing about its real position in the automobile market.
- The Tesla holding is considered to be the car manufacturer that was the first to locate its headquarters in the famous Silicon Valley.
- If necessary, you can replace the battery on an electric vehicle in just 1.5 minutes. The price of the battery is fixed, it is US $60.
- Tesla Corporation does not have a representative office in Russia and Belarus.
- Electric cars of the Tesla brand are considered the only ones in the world that can be purchased for bitcoins.
- The very first enterprise opened outside America was registered in 2020 in China.
All products of Tesla holding
Tesla specializes not only in the production of electric cars. It also produces other products, the range of which includes:
- Charging stations for electric vehicles. They are intended for self-charging of vehicles by their owners.
- Software for driving a car in offline mode. It operates on the basis of the latest machine learning and AI technologies.
- Lithium-ion battery devices, special tiles and panels with the property of accumulating solar energy.
- System unit for storing electrical energy in large volumes.
- Ground-type wind power stations.
Tesla plans to produce and supply innovative air conditioning and ventilation systems to the international market in the near future.
Plans for the release of new products
Tesla annually puts on sale unique new products that delight and delight the world community with its exclusive features and original design.
Elon Musk’s team has outlined grandiose projects with interesting ideas for their implementation in the near future. The main ones are:
- Production of electric vehicles of the second generation Roadster model. It is understood that this new product will be simultaneously equipped with three engines and will accelerate to 100 km in a few seconds.
- Presentation and serial sale of the latest brand of electric crossover Tesla Model Y.
- Final revision of a project related to space exploration. This project started in 2018 with the launch of a sports model of the Roadster electric car into low-Earth orbit. After this, the object was sent into outer space towards Mars. It is expected that it will reach this planet in 2035.
In addition, the company expects to complete previously begun work on the development of an electric vehicle autopilot. The result should be a system with highly efficient independent vehicle control.
Currently, Tesla is rightfully considered a brand that has proven to the entire world community that gasoline-powered cars are a relic of the past, and electric cars have much greater potential and are the transport of the future.
