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- January 2023 (Revised May 2023)
- Case
Elon Musk at Tesla
By: George Serafeim and Amram Migdal
This case gives an overview of Elon Musk’s career arc through the lens of the 2003 founding of Tesla and its growth through 2022. Background information is included on Tesla’s unique strategic decisions, its operational and reputational struggles and successes, and the...
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Keywords:
Business Ventures;
Decision Making;
Design;
Energy;
Renewable Energy;
Engineering;
Entrepreneurship;
Environmental Management;
Climate Change;
Environmental Sustainability;
Green Technology;
Values and Beliefs;
Governance;
Innovation and Invention;
Innovation Leadership;
Innovation Strategy;
Leadership;
Leadership Style;
Management;
Goals and Objectives;
Organizations;
Mission and Purpose;
Society;
Social Issues;
Strategy;
Transportation;
Value;
Auto Industry;
Transportation Industry
- November 2022
- Teaching Note
Driving Decarbonization at BMW - Teaching Note
Teaching note in support of the case "Driving Decarbonization at BMW" (HBS No. 123-008)
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Keywords:
Decarbonization;
Environment;
Sustainability;
Carbon Accounting;
Carbon;
Carbon Abatement;
Electric Vehicles;
Automobiles;
Transportation;
Environmental Accounting;
Accounting;
Environmental Management;
Environmental Sustainability;
Strategy;
Technological Innovation;
Supply Chain;
Business and Stakeholder Relations;
Climate Change;
Transportation Industry;
Auto Industry;
Germany;
Europe;
China;
United States
- October 2022
- Case
Driving Decarbonization at BMW
The case describes BMW’s electrification and decarbonization strategy, and how the company measured carbon emissions throughout the life cycle of its vehicles and used tools like carbon abatement cost curves to evaluate decarbonization opportunities. In mid-2022,...
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Keywords:
Decarbonization;
Climate Change;
Environment;
Sustainability;
Carbon Accounting;
Carbon;
Carbon Abatement;
Electric Vehicles;
Automobiles;
Transportation;
Environmental Accounting;
Environmental Management;
Environmental Sustainability;
Accounting;
Strategy;
Technological Innovation;
Supply Chain;
Business and Stakeholder Relations;
Transportation Industry;
Auto Industry;
Battery Industry;
Germany;
China;
United States;
Europe
- April 2022
- Case
NIO: A Chinese EV Company's Global Strategy
By: William C. Kirby, Shu Lin and Noah B. Truwit
Founded in November 2014 and based in Shanghai, NIO designed, jointly manufactured, and sold premium “smart” EVs. Its mission was to “shape a joyful lifestyle by offering high-performance smart electric vehicles and being the best user enterprise. At NIO Day 2021,...
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- March 2022 (Revised May 2022)
- Case
Doubling Down: Elon Musk's Big Bets in 2022
By: David Yoffie and Daniel Fisher
2021 was a banner year for Elon Musk. CEO of the electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla, the aerospace manufacturer SpaceX, and a few smaller startups, Musk became the richest person on Earth after Tesla reached a market capitalization of $1 trillion and SpaceX a private...
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Keywords:
Innovation and Management;
Competitive Advantage;
Competitive Strategy;
Information Infrastructure;
Applications and Software;
Transportation;
Strategic Planning;
Leadership Style;
Leading Change;
Goals and Objectives;
Aerospace Industry;
Auto Industry;
Battery Industry;
United States;
Europe;
China
- February 2022 (Revised September 2022)
- Case
Lilium: Preparing for Takeoff
By: Navid Mojir, Vincent Dessain, Mette Fuglsang Hjortshoej and Emer Moloney
Lilium is a German company focused on developing electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicles (eVTOLs) that can be used to offer air taxi services. The company went public in September 2021 through a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) deal, raising more than...
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Keywords:
SPACs;
Business Model;
Forecasting and Prediction;
Green Technology;
Capital Markets;
Venture Capital;
Initial Public Offering;
Rural Scope;
Urban Scope;
City;
Disruptive Innovation;
Growth and Development Strategy;
Technological Innovation;
Demand and Consumers;
Market Timing;
Industry Growth;
Infrastructure;
Logistics;
Product Design;
Product Development;
Production;
Service Delivery;
Service Operations;
Strategic Planning;
Partners and Partnerships;
Risk and Uncertainty;
Urban Development;
Sustainable Cities;
Business Strategy;
Competitive Strategy;
Competitive Advantage;
Air Transportation;
Aerospace Industry;
Air Transportation Industry;
Green Technology Industry;
Transportation Industry;
Travel Industry;
Germany;
Munich;
Brazil;
United States;
Florida
- February 2022 (Revised March 2022)
- Case
National Electric Vehicles Sweden (NEVS): Materializing a Vision
By: Shane Greenstein and Elena Corsi
In 2021, the car manufacturer National Electric Vehicle Sweden (NEVS) faced the challenge of securing funding from its investor to launch an innovative mobility solution based on fleets of shared autonomous driving (AD) cars. The system was complex as it required the...
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- January 2022 (Revised August 2022)
- Case
Geely SEA: New Electric Vehicle Platforms
By: Willy C. Shih and Shu Lin
Kent Bovellan, the Chief Engineer and Head of the Vehicle Architecture Center for Geely Holding, the Hangzhou, China headquartered global automotive group, was debating the platform choice for an upcoming "D" segment midsized battery electric vehicle (BEV). He had led...
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Keywords:
Product Innovation;
Product Architecture;
Product Engineering;
Platform Design;
Platform Strategy;
Information Infrastructure;
Digital Platforms;
Information Technology;
Product Design;
Product Development;
Cost Management;
Decision Making;
Competitive Strategy;
Industry Structures;
Auto Industry;
China;
Sweden
- November 2021 (Revised May 2022)
- Case
QuantumScape's Mission to Revolutionize Energy Storage for a Sustainable Future
By: William A. Sahlman, Allison M. Ciechanover and Jeff Huizinga
QuantumScape CEO Jagdeep Singh juggles the many activities required to lead the next-generation battery pioneer. Founded in 2010, QuantumScape’s mission was to develop new “solid-state” car batteries that would improve upon traditional lithium-ion batteries in key...
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- September 2021
- Case
Tesla Motors in 2021: Competition Revs Up
By: Eric J. Van den Steen, Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Karen Elterman
Over its 17 years in existence, Tesla had redefined people’s view of electric cars, and in 2020, the company saw its stock rise by more than 700% to became the most valuable carmaker in the world. In December 2020, Tesla celebrated its fifth consecutive quarter of...
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Keywords:
Barrier To Entry;
Competitive Advantage;
Innovation;
Tesla;
Automotive Industry;
Sustainable Competitive Advantage;
Values;
Vision;
Learning By Doing;
Economies Of Scale;
Electric Vehicle;
Scenario Planning;
Batteries;
Competitive Strategy;
Product Positioning;
Profit;
Competition;
Industry Growth;
Auto Industry
- September 2021 (Revised October 2021)
- Case
Tesla's Uncertain Fate as EV Race Accelerates
By: David Collis and Haisley Wert
By September 2021, Tesla had a staggering market cap of $755 billion. As the leader of the automobile industry, Tesla’s worth surpassed that of the six largest runner-ups combined, including Toyota, Volkswagen, BYD, Daimler, Great Wall Motors, and General Motors. As...
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- November 2020 (Revised May 2023)
- Case
Holaluz: Taking on the Spanish Energy Market
By: Elie Ofek, Marco Bertini, Oded Koenigsberg, Elena Corsi and Emer Moloney
In 2020, the three cofounders of Holaluz, a newcomer to Spain’s electricity retail market, are preparing to launch a new offering: installing and managing solar panels on households' roofs at no extra cost for the consumer, who would still benefit from the energy...
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- June 6, 2019
- Article
Tesla's Advantage? 'It's the Software, Stupid.'
By: Lou Shipley
Without question, entrepreneur, innovator and engineer Elon Musk is a controversial figure, but there is no disputing that his first-to-market Tesla electric vehicles are not only revolutionizing the high-end driving experience, but also disrupting the automobile...
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Keywords:
Tesla;
Elon Musk;
Autonomous Vehicle;
Transportation;
Software;
Technology;
Disruption;
Auto Industry
- May 2019
- Case
Elon Musk's Big Bets Update, 2019
By: David B. Yoffie and Daniel Fisher
This short case provides an update to Elon Musk's strategy and tactical moves with Tesla, Solar City, and SpaceX from 2016-2019.
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Keywords:
Electric Vehicles;
Batteries;
Solar Power;
Execution;
Space Flight;
Tesla;
SolarCity;
SpaceX;
Elon Musk;
Information Technology;
Risk and Uncertainty;
Expansion;
Renewable Energy;
Strategy;
Investment;
Manufacturing Industry;
Green Technology Industry;
Auto Industry;
Aerospace Industry;
Battery Industry
- February 2018
- Teaching Plan
Tesla in 2015
By: Lynda M. Applegate, Olivia Hull and Sarah Mehta
Teaching Note for HBS No. 817-081.
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Keywords:
Electric Vehicle;
Internal Combustion Vehicle;
Battery;
Product Distribution;
Platform Disruption;
Vertical Integration;
Patents;
Disruption;
Innovation and Invention;
Disruptive Innovation;
Innovation Leadership;
Innovation Strategy;
Technological Innovation;
Energy;
Entrepreneurship;
Leading Change;
Product Marketing;
Information Technology;
Digital Platforms;
Transportation;
Auto Industry;
Energy Industry;
Green Technology Industry;
Manufacturing Industry;
Technology Industry;
Transportation Industry;
California
- January 2018 (Revised May 2018)
- Supplement
Wanxiang Group: A Chinese Company's Global Strategy (C)
By: William C. Kirby and Yuanzhuo Wang
This case updates Wanxiang Group's activities since 2012, focusing on its electric vehicle strategy and a transition of the group's leadership.
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- July 2017 (Revised March 2019)
- Technical Note
The Future of Mobility: Economic, Environmental, and Social Implications
By: George Serafeim and David Freiberg
This technical note explores how advancements in technology are fundamentally transforming how consumers interact with mobility. Transformation is being driven by three independent trends: the emergence of affordable electric vehicles, the development of autonomous...
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Keywords:
Oil ＆ Gas;
Automobile Manufacturing;
Technological And Scientific Innovation;
Mobility;
Inequality;
Electric Vehicles;
Ride-sharing;
Ambidexterity;
Transformation;
Disruption;
Change;
Technological Innovation;
Transportation;
Equality and Inequality;
Auto Industry;
Technology Industry;
Transportation Industry;
Distribution Industry
- November 2016 (Revised September 2018)
- Case
Elon Musk's Big Bets
By: David B. Yoffie, Eric Baldwin and Brandon Kaufmann
Between late 2014 and late 2016, Tesla CEO Elon Musk undertook several major, and risky, initiatives that would dramatically expand the scale and scope of Tesla’s business. In late 2014, Tesla began construction on a $5 billion “gigafactory” that would manufacture...
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Keywords:
Electric Vehicles;
Batteries;
Solar Power;
Strategy;
Execution;
Technology;
Space Flight;
Tesla;
SolarCity;
SpaceX;
Elon Musk;
Information Technology;
Risk and Uncertainty;
Expansion;
Renewable Energy;
Investment;
Manufacturing Industry;
Green Technology Industry;
Auto Industry;
Aerospace Industry;
Battery Industry
- October 2016
- Case
Elon Musk: Balancing Purpose and Risk
By: Shikhar Ghosh and Sarah Mehta
The case is used to illustrate the place of ‘Purpose’ versus financial risk and returns in a founder’s objectives. It also addresses personal risk profile of different founders, and when paired with the Risk Tolerance Exercise, it enables evaluating one’s own appetite...
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- 2016
- Book
Innovation Equity: Assessing and Managing the Monetary Value of New Products and Services
By: Elie Ofek, Eitan Muller and Barak Libai
This book bridges the gap between what academics know, and what innovation stakeholders—from managers, to investors, to analysts, to consumers—need to know about how new products and services are expected to perform in the marketplace. The book develops a compelling...
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Keywords:
Innovation;
Technology Diffusion;
New Products;
Customer Lifetime Value;
Monetization Strategy;
Social Influence;
Innovation Adoption;
Forecasting Demand;
Commercialization;
Marketing Strategy;
Practice;
Customer Value and Value Chain;
Research;
Innovation and Management;
Technology Adoption;
Forecasting and Prediction;
Product Development