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In mid-2013, Tesla Motors was riding a wave of success: It had launched its first really mass-produced car—the model S—to rave reviews, had recently...
In mid-2013, Tesla Motors was riding a wave of success: It had launched its first really mass-produced car—the model S—to rave reviews; had recently...
- April 2021
- Case
Accounting for Bitcoin at Tesla
By: Charles C.Y. Wang and Siyu Zhang
In February of 2021, Tesla revealed that it had purchased $1.5 billion of Bitcoin, totaling 7.5% of the company's cash. This announcement came after a series of cryptocurrency-related tweets from Elon Musk, the company's CEO, and a surge in cryptocurrency values. The...
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- July 2020 (Revised September 2020)
- Exercise
Accounting for Liabilities at Tesla
By: Paul Healy and Marshal Herrmann
- July 2020 (Revised November 2020)
- Exercise
Accounting for Assets at Tesla
By: Paul M. Healy and Marshal Herrmann
- February 28, 2020
- Article
How Tesla Sets Itself Apart
By: Lou Shipley
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...
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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;
Technology;
Risk and Uncertainty;
Expansion;
Renewable Energy;
Strategy;
Investment;
Manufacturing Industry;
Green Technology Industry;
Auto Industry;
Aerospace Industry;
Battery Industry
- November 2018 (Revised January 2020)
- Case
Tesla, Inc. in 2018
By: Siko Sikochi, Suraj Srinivasan and Quinn Pitcher
On August 7, 2018 Elon Musk, Chairman and CEO of Tesla tweeted that he was considering taking Tesla private and had secured funding. Weeks went by without details about a deal and speculation grew that Musk had misled investors. He soon abandoned the idea, but the...
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- Editorial
Elon Musk's Unusual Compensation Plan Isn't Really About Compensation at All
By: George Serafeim
Earlier this year, Tesla shareholders approved likely the largest compensation package ever awarded to a CEO—for a CEO who clearly doesn’t need the money. Elon Musk is already incredibly rich and also doesn’t seem particularly motivated by further wealth. So why do it?...
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- April 2018 (Revised June 2020)
- Case
Tesla's CEO Compensation Plan
By: Krishna G. Palepu and Sarah Mehta
Tesla’s board of directors proposed an unusual compensation plan for the company’s CEO Elon Musk. The plan payouts were entirely contingent on achieving very ambitious market value, sales, and EBIT targets over the next ten years. If all the targets were achieved,...
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- April 2018 (Revised March 2019)
- Case
Tesla-SolarCity
By: E. Scott Mayfield and Emil N. Siriwardane
On June 21, 2016, Tesla Motors, Inc. announced its offer to acquire SolarCity, bringing CEO Elon Musk one step closer to completing his goal of moving the world from a hydrocarbon-based economy to a solar-electric one. Markets and analysts were mixed in their reaction...
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- 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;
Technology;
Technology Platform;
Transportation;
Auto Industry;
Energy Industry;
Green Technology Industry;
Manufacturing Industry;
Technology Industry;
Transportation Industry;
California
- December 2017 (Revised June 2021)
- Case
Tesla's Bid for SolarCity (A)
By: Charles C.Y. Wang and Raaj Zutshi
In October 2016, Tesla asked its shareholders to ratify their $2.4 billion bid for SolarCity. Tesla had announced a series of large projects in the preceding months including the unveiling of the Model 3, the new Solar Roof, and pushing forward the opening of the...
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- December 2017 (Revised November 2018)
- Case
Tesla: Merging with SolarCity
By: Stuart C. Gilson and Sarah L. Abbott
In 2016, electric car manufacturer Tesla announced that it was making an offer to acquire solar panel manufacturer SolarCity in an all-stock offer worth $2.6 billion in Tesla stock. Tesla’s co-founder and CEO, Elon Musk, believed that the merger would generate...
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- December 2017 (Revised November 2018)
- Case
Tesla: Financing Growth
By: Stuart C. Gilson and Sarah L. Abbott
The case analyzes the equity market value of Tesla Motors, the electric car company founded and led by Elon Musk. Wall Street analysts are wildly divided on the future growth prospects for this company, and analysts’ one year share price targets range from $160 to...
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- 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;
Space Flight;
Tesla;
SolarCity;
SpaceX;
Elon Musk;
Technology;
Risk and Uncertainty;
Expansion;
Renewable Energy;
Investment;
Manufacturing Industry;
Green Technology Industry;
Auto Industry;
Aerospace Industry;
Battery Industry
- November 2016 (Revised May 2017)
- Case
Hyperloop One
This case explores the attempt of Shervin Pishevar, a prominent Silicon Valley investor, to shepherd hyperloop, a futuristic pod-in-tube transportation technology, from concept to transformative reality via Hyperloop One and Sherpa Capital, both companies he...
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- 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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- March 2014
- Teaching Note
Tesla Motors
In mid-2013, Tesla Motors was riding a wave of success: It had launched its first really mass-produced car—the model S—to rave reviews, had recently raised first-year production targets, and had started taking orders for its next car, the Model X. Tesla seemed to be on...
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- August 2013 (Revised November 2020)
- Case
Tesla Motors
In mid-2013, Tesla Motors was riding a wave of success: It had launched its first really mass-produced car—the model S—to rave reviews; had recently raised first-year production targets; and had started taking orders for its next car, the Model X. Tesla seemed to be on...
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Keywords:
Barriers To Entry;
Economic Analysis;
Learning Curve;
Economies Of Scale;
Innovation;
Market Entry;
Sustainable Competitive Advantage;
Vision;
Strategy And Leadership;
Strategy;
Competitive Strategy;
Market Entry and Exit;
Competitive Advantage;
Technological Innovation;
Leadership;
Learning;
Economics;
Analysis;
Auto Industry