Publications
Publications
- February 28, 2020
- Harvard Business Review Digital Articles
How Tesla Sets Itself Apart
By: Lou Shipley
Abstract
Tesla and its flamboyant, and sometimes erratic, innovator Elon Musk have turned the more than a century old industry upside down in a mere 16 years. Traditional automakers are ill prepared to compete in today’s software-centered world. Unlike nimble Tesla, they are big, bureaucratic, slow to respond to customers, dependent on providing customer financing for unit sales growth, and culturally different from a software company. Tesla’s speed in innovation in the market for high-end vehicles is more like a Google or an Amazon than an automaker. And its soaring market valuation is a clear sign to all automakers that they’ll need to develop more innovative, Tesla-like business models in order to survive.
Keywords
Strategy; Technology; Transportation; Business Model; Technological Innovation; Disruption; Auto Industry
Citation
Shipley, Lou. "How Tesla Sets Itself Apart." Harvard Business Review Digital Articles (February 28, 2020).
About The Author
