The Effects of Globalisation On Electric Vehicles - Tesla Case

THE EFFECTS OF GLOBALISATION
ON ELECTRIC VEHICLES: TESLA CASE.
MSC. BUSINESS MANAGEMENT
P58809 INTERNATIONAL TRADE AND GLOBALISATION
STUDENT NUMBER: 17099706
WORD COUNT: 3978
DATE: 29TH APRIL 2019

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CONTENTS
1. Introduction ___________________________________________________ 3
1.1 Motivation ____________________________________________________________ 4
1.2 Objective _____________________________________________________________ 4
1.3 Organisation __________________________________________________________ 5
2. History Electric Car in the Global Context __________________________ 5
2.1 The Golden Age ______________________________________________________ 6
2.2 The Wartime _________________________________________________________ 6
2.3 Spark Interest in Electric Vehicles _______________________________________ 8
2.4 Environmental Concern ________________________________________________ 8
3. Globalisation on the Automotive Industry __________________________ 9
3.1 Workforce ___________________________________________________________ 10
3.2 International Trade and Electric Vehicles________________________________ 11
4. Tesla Case ___________________________________________________ 13
4.1 Tesla Supply Chain Strategy __________________________________________ 14
4.2 Competitive Advantage of Tesla _______________________________________ 15
4.3 Porter’s Diamond Analysis ____________________________________________ 16
Demand Factors _______________________________________________ 16
Factor Conditions ______________________________________________ 16
Related and Supporting Industries _________________________________ 16
Firm Strategy, Structure & Rivalry __________________________________ 16
4.4 CAGE Framework ____________________________________________________ 17
Culture ______________________________________________________ 17
The Effects of Globalisation on Electric Vehicles: Tesla case

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Administrative _________________________________________________ 17
Geographic ___________________________________________________ 18
Economics ___________________________________________________ 18
5. Concluding Remarks __________________________________________ 18
5.1 Recommendations with respect to CAGE Framework ____________________ 18
5.2 Recommendations with respect to Porter’s Diamond _____________________ 18
5.3 Conclusion __________________________________________________________ 19
6. References __________________________________________________ 20

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1. Introduction
In the growing era of globalisation, under a strong interdependence of information and
technology, the modern world has become intensely interconnected
(Assets.publishing.service.gov.uk, 2000)
By being globalised, the automobile industry has to deal with to factors of exploring
new markets, increasing innovation, face new competitors and find new foreign
investment.
On the other hand, it is well-know that the transport sector is the major contributor to
green gas emissions, accounting for 23% of global carbon dioxide emissions in 2010.
Carbon dioxide is kept in the atmosphere for over 100 years, with global warming
consequences (Leahev.org, 2015).
For this reason, in this sector, the shift towards emission reduction challenges has
already started globally and it has held its step permanently (Eur-lex.europa.EU,
2016).
Electromobility seems to be a possible solution in tackling negative externalities
associated with conventional combustion engine car usage. Thus, there exists a
powerful worldwide political will to foster the market introduction of electric vehicles
(EVs). A critical advancement occurred in the annual conference of parties carried out
in Paris, December 2015 (COP21). In this meeting, a collaborative initiative called
"Paris Declaration on Electro-Mobility and Climate Change and Call to Action" was
admitted. Its principal objective is to promote advances for a more sustainable
transport sector, towards the final aim of reducing global warming (Ppmc-
transport.org, 2015).
Tesla Motors Inc. is an automobile company that designs, manufactures, and sells
electric cars with a spotlight on energy innovation. Its headquarter is based in United
States (Palo Alto, California).

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Tesla aims to accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy. The company
has a master plan to build and sell zero-emission electric sport cars and to
manufacture and sell more affordable electric family vehicles (Musk 2006).
1.1 Motivation
In the last decades, the development of alternative vehicle technologies, such as full
electric and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, has increased substantially as a
consequence of responding and changing the transportation sector subordination on
fossil fuels.
Governments and manufacturers have joined to make new commitments for electric
vehicle sales, and the value of manufacturing electric vehicles has undergone a
persistent decrease, making them more competitive with internal combustion vehicles.
Progresses in lithium-ion battery technologies have been vital to the increasing growth
of electric cars, and a steady transition to electric drive will necessitate far greater
battery production.
In this report, the Tesla Inc. was chosen as case study, mainly due to its dominance
in electric car global manufacturing market and the vital role that it plays in transitioning
the world to sustainable energy.
1.2 Objective
The main objective of this study is to explore the effects of globalisation on electric
vehicles, using the Tesla company as a case of analysis.
The specific aims considered are:
 Present the key issues faced by electric car companies in a global market.
 Evaluate the practical implication of these problems on our globalised world.

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1.3 Organisation
This report is organized in five parts.
The first part presents an introduction, motivation, objective and structure of the report.
The second part briefly describes the history of electric vehicles in the global context.
The third part exposes the globalisation on the automobile industry and international
trade.
The fourth part focuses on the analyses of the Tesla Inc. with respect to the global
market. The methods of analysis used are: Michael Porter's Five Forces analysis and
CAGE framework.
Finally, some concluding remarks and recommendations are drawn.
2. History Electric Car in the Global Context
The history of the electric vehicles is related to the battery's history. At the beginning
of the last century, various entrepreneurs attempted to create electric automobiles.
Although, in part due to the outbreak of World War I, the internal combustion engine
became the dominant technology (Wakefield, 1994).
Early innovators based their developments on Alessandro Volta ideas, who
demonstrated that electric energy could be stored chemically (Høyer, 2008).
Michael Faraday in 1821 built the first electric motor using Volta's chemical pile,
showing the close relationship between magnetism and electric currents, thereby
laying the foundation for the generators required for electric cars. Later on, Thomas
Edison saw great opportunities for electric cars (see Figure 1). He made valuable
efforts to develop more efficient batteries. In 1901, he came up with the nickel-iron
battery, but its production costs were very high (Høyer, 2008).

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Figure 1: Thomas Edison and an electric car in 1913 (En.wikipedia.org, 2019)
2.1 The Golden Age
The years from 1880 to 1912 was the golden age for electric vehicles. However, the
conventional vehicles gasoline-powered also were developed over this period. In 1903
there were less internal combustion engine cars than electric cars. By 1906 and 1909
the Ford Model K and Ford Model T were launched, respectively, and conquered the
new market for personal transport. However, electric vehicles did not stop the number
of sales in the USA rising a peak of 30000 units. Manufacturers such as Ferdinand
Porsche also developed electric cars, including two electric motors in their wheel hubs.
In this time there was the maximum production of electric vehicles (Westbrook, 2001).
2.2 The Wartime
Before the World War the industry of electric vehicles still constituted a prosper
industry. The War in Europe increased the production of these vehicles and
development potentials. However, due to the war effort in the USA, England, France
and Germany more gasoline vehicles were demanded. For this reason, the electric
cars were relegated for minor tasks such as street cleaning and garbage collection.

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Nevertheless, their production and use were vital for two conditions: Firstly, the
shortage of gasoline and secondly, the development of new electric power stations
(Anderson and Anderson, 2010).
From 1920, the expected demand for electric vehicles declined. The sales started to
be low, and by 1929 the stock market crashed, and the international economic
depression led companies to bankruptcy. The Second World War, brought again a
wartime peak for EVs, caused by gasoline shortage and to Warfront use of gasoline
and diesel vehicles.
By 1950, the electric car production continued due to the problem with the fossil fuel
shortage. For instance, in this post-war period, Japan suffered a severe rationing of
gasoline, which motivated the production of an electric car named Tama Electric
Power car (see Figure 2), reaching a huge popularity. However, when the gasoline
became available again, the production of the company turned to internal combustion
engines (ICE) cars. France and the USA started to produce several hybrid gasoline-
electric cars, even hybrid sport cars, nevertheless only for a few years (Wakefield,
1994).
Figure 2: Tama Electric Vehicle (Nissan-global.com, 2016)

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2.3 Spark Interest in Electric Vehicles
From 1960 the world major car producers showed interest in electric cars. For
instance, in 1966, the research staff at the British Ford Motor company were to
construct a small urban electric vehicle (prototype called Comuta). However, the car
was not promising enough to be developed for commercialisation (Westbrook, 2001).
Other automakers began exploring options around the same period for alternative
electric cars. General Motors developed a prototype for an urban electric vehicle and
the American Motor company created electric delivery jeeps. Also, in 1971, NASA
raised the profile of the electric car when used an electric Lunar Rover on the moon.
In spite of these advances, these types of vehicles still suffered from drawbacks
compared with conventional gasoline cars. In brief, the interest in electric vehicles had
mostly died down until the 1990s (Energy.gov, 2014).
2.4 Environmental Concern
From 1990 onwards, new federal transportation emission regulations issued in the U.S
helped to create a renewed interest in the production of the electric cars.
For example, General Motors designed and developed the EV1. However, due to its
high production cost and unprofitability, it was never commercially viable, and this
model was discontinued in 2001 (Drive and Culmer, 2017).
In 1997 Japan introduced the Toyota Prius. Since the rising of gasoline prices and
concern about the environment helped the Toyota Prius to become the world's first
mass-produced hybrid electric car and the best-selling hybrid worldwide in the past
decade. In 2006, Tesla Inc. started producing a luxury electric sport car and
established a manufacturing facility in California with the support of the U.S
government. In late 2011, the Nissan LEAF and the Chevy Volt were released in the
U.S. as well. These models were the first plug-in hybrid vehicles allowing consumers
to drive on electric and gasoline to extend the vehicle's range (Energy.gov, 2014).

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3. Globalisation on the Automotive Industry
Globalisation is one of the major polemic phenomena of the modern world, integrating
people, governments and economies, although it has been around for centuries in the
world development. For instance this includes foreign trade and the geographical
movement of goods from one point to another, being a crucial factor in human affairs
from early times. The most famous was the Silk Road through central Asia (Bernstein,
2009).
In 2005 Thomas Friedman defined the situation in today’s world as "We live in a Flat
World". Many people consider the globalisation a modern phenomenon, but according
to T. Friedman, this is its third stage. He called the first stage of global development
"Globalisation 1.0", which started with the discovery of the new world, from 1492 to
1800. This stage was characterised by how much industrial power countries produce
and apply. "Globalization 2.0", from 1800 to 2000, was disrupted by both World Wars
and the Great Depression. This was shaped by the emerging power of huge
multinational corporations. The last period, "Globalisation 3.0", began in 2000, with
advances in global electronic interconnectivity and important software innovations
(Saylordotorg.github.io, 2019).
On the other hand, the Indian-American economist Pankaj Ghemawat does not agree
with this view. “If the world was flat most of problems that managers face in crossing
borders wouldn’t exist” (Ghemawat, 2008), he pointed out.
In spite of its pervasiveness or, perhaps because of it, globalisation remains
contentious and controversial. Supporters debate that globalisation provides
developing countries with market access and the opportunity to grow their economies.
Detractors argue that globalisation permits that multinational companies cross borders
freely in searching of personal interests, mostly at the expense of domestic
enterprises. Kofi Annan, former secretary general of the United Nations, emphasized:
“Arguing against globalisation is like arguing against the law of gravity" (Socco, 2017).

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The automotive industry shares some similar features with other globalised sectors,
such as consumer goods and electronics. The main characteristic in common is that
in all of these industries global production, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and cross-
border trade have accelerated since 1980. Market growth and surplus of low-cost
skilled labour, in countries such as India and China, have attracted FDI flows to export
back to developed countries and supply local markets. The global sourcing patterns
have been encouraged by investment liberalisation and trade through the World Trade
Organization (WTO).
Another feature is the increasing outsourcing and the value chain in supplier firms. In
consequence, developed country suppliers have risen their FDI and trade, improving
their capabilities. These have become "global suppliers”, with multinational operations
to provide service and goods to a wide range of leading firms (Www-
wds.worldbank.org, 2004).
3.1 Workforce
The impact of globalisation on employment is a crucial point in the contemporary
political economy. From the point of view of workers, globalisation is often seen as an
issue and threat led by developed countries, as traditional industry jobs are relocated
or are disappearing around the globe. In the world, an increase of employment in
developing countries is seen as a vast contribution to reducing poverty. Nevertheless,
the effect of globalisation on labour markets on the global economy leading to job
creation are still a debate. Globalisation affects labour in different ways. The most
significant is through increased trade, FDI, and international technology transfer
(Jenkins, 2006).
In the context of electro-mobility, the incidence of this technological shift will have on
jobs will be profound. The electric cars, including batteries, generally require less
manufacturing labour than the production of standard petrol cars.

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For instance, for this reason according to the Centre for Economic Studies and Ifo
Institute (CESIFO), by 2030 it is estimated that a phase-out of combustion engines
could cost more than 600.000 jobs in Germany (Cesifo-group.de, 2017). Companies
as Toyota and local car manufacturers have shut down part of their Australian facilities.
As the electric car begins easier to build, the process may become simplified and
robotised, with the result in creating new business opportunities in manufacturing (Dia,
2017).
The United States automotive industry is leading the automation change. From 2010
to 2015, 60.000 industrial robots approximately were installed in this country. On the
other hand, China incorporated more than 90.000 units in the same period. It expects
that in the follow years industrial robot sales continue growing in the emerging industry
and car manufacturers and component suppliers will keep on being a user of robots
(RobotGlobe, 2016).
3.2 International Trade and Electric Vehicles
The automotive industry is vastly impacted by globalisation, mainly since the trade in
manufactured goods has left behind traditional sectors such as mining and agriculture.
Global sales from automobile parts exports by country totalled US$385.4 billion in
2017 (Workman, 2018).
Agents such the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Trade Organization
(WTO) have long promoted globalisation. The customer unions and trade blocks such
Mercosur, European Union (EU) and East African Community (EAC) have led as well
as have resulted from globalisation and Free-Trade agreements (FTA) have been
inked to formalise globalisation protocols: China-Thailand FTA, North America FTA
and Japan-Philippines, among others. Globalisation has carried on reshaping the
trade and the manufacturing landscape of automobiles (Socco, 2017).

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According to a study of the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT),
manufacturing of both electric vehicles and batteries is still concentrated in a few
numbers of countries. China accounts for 50% of nearly all global EVs production (see
Figure 3), followed by Europe and the United States, with approximately 20%, Japan
8% and South Korea 3%. Japan was the leading battery pack producer in the last
years (Lutsey et al. 2018).
Figure 3: Annual sales of electric vehicles 2010-2017 (Forbes.com, 2018)
By 2040 is expected that more than 50% of global car sales and 33% of the worldwide
car fleet will be electric. The global average of EV battery cost reckon on to continuing
falling significantly, representing a tipping-point which the market would drive an
increasing adoption (Bloomberg NEF, 2018).
Trade policy may influence economies of scale goods and services produced. This by
means of permitting companies to set up and operate an efficient and optimal supply
chain network in global scope, bringing down EVs manufacturing costs as
consequence. Domestic policies based on standardisation can need to strike a
balance between answering to legitimate differences in local environmental
conditions, encouraging innovative efforts in different option battery technologies,

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besides ensuring a cost-optimal and efficient production scale for EVs
(Greengrowthknowledge.org, 2017).
4. Tesla Case
Tesla, Inc. is an American global enterprise that designs and manufactures electric
powered vehicles and multiples components. The company was established in 2003
by Martin Eberhard and Elon Musk as an electric vehicle manufacture. Nowadays, it
is the only vehicle manufacturer with zero-emission sport cars, expanding their
technological market to the luxury vehicle sedan market. The business model of Tesla
is similar to Apple Company and other high-technological futuristic companies. As
central value Tesla has its unique and innovative products and its vast potential growth
(Sun, 2011).
Tesla uses the strategy of selling luxuries eco-friendly models at high margins. It differs
from its peer competitors such us Chrysler, General Motors in Detroit and Ford. These
last have been left behind to meet the rising demands for electric vehicles (Sun, 2011).
Tesla has one of the most advanced car factories in the world; the production unit is
in California, United States. The principal resource is the design and assembly of EVs
and the development of technology for advanced batteries (Tesla Motors 2015).
The profile of Tesla is currently worth $47,416 million with $7 billion in revenues. The
company started its first expansion moving into the foreign market with opening a
showroom in London in 2009 and opening a store in Munich the same year. In 2016,
the company had more than 17 thousand employees and had sold over 180 thousand
electric cars worldwide. It currently has 272 stores around the world (see Figure 4),
the 26 of which are in different countries outside the US (Kamkoum, 2017).

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Figure 4: Tesla Motors Worldwide Footprint (Media.thinknum.com, 2019)
4.1 Tesla Supply Chain Strategy
Tesla has two main factories, one located in California, USA and other in Tilburg,
Holland. The most important is the California factory where its most critical operations
including batteries are carried out. Just some parts are bought externally, making the
level of vertical integration high. Tesla requires more than 2,000 pieces from 300
suppliers around the world for the production of the Model S (see Figure 5). Some
Suppliers have an exclusive partnership with California-based Tesla. These deals are
established in short-term, since for Tesla always is important to look for other suppliers
or to build parts internally. For instance, Daimler and Toyota are partners, which
develop engines used in the production of Tesla’s cars. Panasonic has been its main
supplier of the battery cells to produce battery packs.

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The origin of competitive advantage of Tesla Inc. comes from its disruptive technology
and the ability to use it more efficiently. Tesla has differentiated themselves from their
competitors by revolutionising the lithium-ion batteries, creating more charge capacity

Fu e l C a rd
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lse plug-in based electric
vehicles.
Tesla's batteries are unique in their performance, which allows developing a value
chain ecosystem around its cars, resulting in a better value to customers.
Tesla is a pioneer in the type of its electric cars and entered a market with few
competitors, which constitute a significant first mover advantage. Besides, it is
important to highlight the substantial investment carried out by the company to achieve
this position.

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4.3 Porter’s Diamond Analysis
Michael Porter (American strategy professor of Harvard Business School), developed
an economic diamond model for businesses to aid the companies to understand their
competitive position in the global market.
Demand Factors
People are switching to the use of environmentally friendly products. Many countries
aim to become oil-independent. The majority of demand for Tesla’s cars come from
inside the United States. However, there is a strong interest in the Tesla’s product line
in Europe and Asia.
Factor Conditions
The United States provides factors that contributing to the succeed in the production
of luxury electric vehicles. The most important is the technological expertise that the
U.S.-based companies have in designing and manufacturing their cars models, with a
long-standing rich tradition before the establishment of Tesla Inc.
Related and Supporting Industries
In 2011, the president of United States Barack Obama, sets the target of having one
million of electric vehicles on the road by 2015.
As part of this commitment, Tesla aimed to develop its lithium-ion battery in the United
States, where there are a vast presence of steel manufactures and battery technology
to provide the necessary inputs to Tesla objectives.
Firm Strategy, Structure & Rivalry
The company is based on a strategy of innovative culture, led by a CEO who inspires
any creative innovation accompanied with a vast investment of revenues in research
and development.

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Tesla is a pioneer in producing lithium-ion batteries as unique source of energy in its
fully electric cars, which for the first time allowed zero-emission vehicles. In this
context, one technical strategy that the company has pursued is to ensure to its
customers a supply of complements by free charging stations.
Tesla has virtually no competitors in its target market. One of the possible rivals is
BMW 5-series who has luxury well-positioned hybrid cars. However, from a zero-
emission point of view its competition is insignificant. Only a car such as The Nissan
Leaf falls in this standard, though it is not a luxury sport car.
4.4 CAGE Framework
The CAGE framework, developed by the Indian-American economist Pankaj
Ghemawat, Analyse the impact of Cultural, Administrative, Geographic and
Economics distances between different countries that industries need to address for
its international strategies (Ghemawat.com, 2019).
The CAGE analysis for EVs, in particular for Tesla Inc., is as follows:
Culture
EVs are considered a disruptive technology. In this stage of development, the
consumer attitudes towards EVs is the main cultural barrier for their adoption. Only in
countries with significant concerns in the environment people are willing to prefer this
type of cars.
Administrative
The primary concern for Tesla is government policies regarding the implementation of
charging stations; without these facilities, it is not possible to travel long-distances in
this type of cars.

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The level of stimuli changes significantly in diverse countries. Although, the adoption
of EVs increased in the last years with more financial incentives, technology
assistance or planning for infrastructure.
Geographic
The states of the roads and traffic networks is a key factor to the suitability of particular
types of cars, for instance: sport, crossover, SUV, etc. The accessibility to electricity
(charging points) is a limiting agent for the company’s abroad expansion.
Economics
Currently, the price of fuel is an essential factor for the incorporation of EVs. An
increase in these prices can incentivise switching to EVs.
GDP per capita is an important measure to reveal the affordability of Tesla's products.
The currency stability against the U.S. dollar can affect the price of imports for foreign
countries. In this context, Tesla has diversified its models.
5. Concluding Remarks
5.1 Recommendations with respect to CAGE Framework
The price of the fossil combustible is relatively high in countries such as Switzerland,
Norway and Germany, amongst others. This can be an opportunity for Tesla, because
these countries have a high GPD per capita, consequently representing a significant
market for Tesla. The company needs to address the necessity of charging stations
which can be its weakness to expand its sales in the future.
5.2 Recommendations with respect to Porter’s Diamond
Tesla has a niche market of the eco-wealthy by producing the first line of electric cars
environmentally responsible and with a high-tech design. The governments play a

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significant role supporting the electromobility especially by means of banning gasoline
cars in the future, which has been announced by many countries, providing to Tesla a
horizon of opportunities. The company has a vision that involves a mass market
strategy which is in contrast with its niche market differentiation strategy. This point
can have negative implications in the current market. Tesla needs to take a careful
approach to adopt a mass market in order to keep its selected group of customers.
5.3 Conclusion
The phenomenon of globalisation has existed from early times. The term can be
interpreted variously due to different cultural dimensions and cover many concepts
such us economic process, capital flows, political, worldwide spanning of production,
among others.
An example of its controversial effects is the long debate about how the
internationalisation of business is affecting national identities and whether these
changes are desirable.
In conclusion, although the globalisation affects the workforce and developing
economies, its benefits numerous and are mainly based on free trade, which spread
technology and increases the mobility of capital.
The introduction of EVs has been affected positively by the effect of globalisation,
given the technological innovations and the increase of competition, resulting in an
improvement of the car manufacture quality.
The implications of the technological environment are crucial to Tesla's success. As it
has been indicated, Tesla is a pioneer in manufacturing zero-emission vehicles based
on lithium-ion battery technology. Thus, the company has an impressive advantage in
the electric vehicle industry and market as a whole.

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People show an increasing tendency to concern more about environmental problems.
In the last years, has existed a constant pressure to produce eco-friendly vehicles,
which have stimulated the demand for Tesla's product at a global scale.
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THE EFFECTS OF GLOBALISATION

ON ELECTRIC VEHICLES: TESLA CASE.

MSC. BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

P58809 INTERNATIONAL TRADE AND GLOBALISATION

STUDENT NUMBER: 17099706

WORD COUNT: 3978

DATE: 29TH APRIL 2019

1.1 Motivation ____________________________________________________________ 4

1.2 Objective _____________________________________________________________ 4

1.3 Organisation __________________________________________________________ 5

2. History Electric Car in the Global Context __________________________ 5

2.1 The Golden Age ______________________________________________________ 6

2.2 The Wartime _________________________________________________________ 6

2.3 Spark Interest in Electric Vehicles _______________________________________ 8

2.4 Environmental Concern ________________________________________________ 8

3. Globalisation on the Automotive Industry __________________________ 9

3.1 Workforce ___________________________________________________________ 10

3.2 International Trade and Electric Vehicles________________________________ 11

4. Tesla Case ___________________________________________________ 13

4.1 Tesla Supply Chain Strategy __________________________________________ 14

4.2 Competitive Advantage of Tesla _______________________________________ 15

4.3 Porter’s Diamond Analysis ____________________________________________ 16

Demand Factors _______________________________________________ 16

Factor Conditions ______________________________________________ 16

Related and Supporting Industries _________________________________ 16

Firm Strategy, Structure & Rivalry __________________________________ 16

4.4 CAGE Framework ____________________________________________________ 17

The Effects of Globalisation on Electric Vehicles: Tesla case

5. Concluding Remarks __________________________________________ 18

5.1 Recommendations with respect to CAGE Framework ____________________ 18

5.2 Recommendations with respect to Porter’s Diamond _____________________ 18

5.3 Conclusion __________________________________________________________ 19

The Effects of Globalisation on Electric Vehicles: Tesla case

In the growing era of globalisation, under a strong interdependence of information and

technology, the modern world has become intensely interconnected

consequences (Leahev.org, 2015).

Electromobility seems to be a possible solution in tackling negative externalities

in Paris, December 2015 (COP21). In this meeting, a collaborative initiative called

admitted. Its principal objective is to promote advances for a more sustainable

States (Palo Alto, California).

The Effects of Globalisation on Electric Vehicles: Tesla case

electric and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, has increased substantially as a

consequence of responding and changing the transportation sector subordination on

the world to sustainable energy.

vehicles, using the Tesla company as a case of analysis.

The specific aims considered are:

 Evaluate the practical implication of these problems on our globalised world.

The Effects of Globalisation on Electric Vehicles: Tesla case

This report is organized in five parts.

Finally, some concluding remarks and recommendations are drawn.

2. History Electric Car in the Global Context

of the last century, various entrepreneurs attempted to create electric automobiles.

became the dominant technology (Wakefield, 1994).

Early innovators based their developments on Alessandro Volta ideas, who

demonstrated that electric energy could be stored chemically (Høyer, 2008).

The Effects of Globalisation on Electric Vehicles: Tesla case

Figure 1: Thomas Edison and an electric car in 1913 (En.wikipedia.org, 2019)

2.1 The Golden Age

2.2 The Wartime

The Effects of Globalisation on Electric Vehicles: Tesla case

(Anderson and Anderson, 2010).

and diesel vehicles.

Figure 2: Tama Electric Vehicle (Nissan-global.com, 2016)