1.

How has Tesla risen to become the leading electronic car

manufacturer in the United States? What business is Tesla: the
car market or the electric car market?

Tesla is an American automotive and Energy Company based in Palo Alto, California. The company
specializes in electric car manufacturing.

Tesla was founded in July 2003, by engineers Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning, under the name Tesla
Motors.

After 10 years in the market, Tesla ranked as the world's best selling plug-in passenger car manufacturer
in 2018, both as a brand and by automotive group, with 240 units delivered and a market share of 12% of
the plug-in segment sales. Tesla vehicle sales in the U.S. increased by 280% from 48,000 in 2017 to
182,400 in 2018, and globally were up by 138% from 2017.

In 2004, Tesla was financed for more than 30 million dollars.

In 2008 Tesla lunched its first completely electric car name “Roadster” with competitive features.
The Tesla Roadster is a battery electric vehicle sprots car. The Roadster was the first highway legal serial
production electric car to use lithium-ion battery cells and the first production electric car to travel more
than can travel 393 kilometres on a single charge of its lithium-ion battery pack, and can accelerate from
0 to 97 km/h in 3.7 or 3.9 seconds depending on the model. It has a top speed of 201 km/h

Tesla sold about 2,450 Roadsters in over 30 countries, and most of the last Roadsters were sold in
Europe and Asia during the fourth quarter of 2012.

In 2010 Tesla’s initial public offering raised some $226 million

In 2012, Tesla produced the new electric car Model S sedan that was powered with the three different
battery option that give a range between 379 and 483 KM.

Also in 2012 Tesla started to provide extra services in which many stations in Europe and the US were
charging or replacement batteries in a quick way and without any additional charges for any owner of
Tesla cars.

In 2014, a new feature was adopted to the model S and later on to the other models which was the
autopilot system.

In 2017, Tesla started to produce batteries responsible for the storage of electric power from solar
energy.

 To achieve their goal of having the safest factories in the world, Tesla is taking a proactive approach to
safety, requiring production employees to participate in a multi-day training program before ever setting
foot on the factory floor. From there, Tesla continues to provide on-the-job training and track
performance daily so that improvements can be made quickly. The result is that Tesla’s safety rate
continues to improve while Model 3 production ramps.

To create an entire sustainable energy ecosystem, Tesla also manufactures a unique set of energy
solutions, Powerwall, Powerpack and Solar Roof, enabling homeowners, businesses, and utilities to
manage renewable energy generation, storage, and consumption.

Tesla manufactures batteries at the volumes required to meet production goals, while creating
thousands of jobs.

And this is just the beginning. With Tesla building its most affordable car yet, Tesla continues to make
products accessible and affordable to more and more people, ultimately accelerating clean transport
and clean energy production. Electric cars, batteries, and renewable energy generation and storage
already exist independently, but when combined, they become even more powerful.

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 2. Why do firms partner with other firms? What are some of the
pros and cons of partnerships?

Strategic partnerships benefit everyone: businesses, employees and customers. ... Plus, deepening ties

between complementary businesses fosters collaboration and longevity, and allows companies to offer
services and solutions that help their customers and other businesses become more successful

There is no better approach to solving challenges than the famous saying "two heads are better than one."
Whether creating internal partnerships between colleagues or departments, to larger partnerships between
businesses, harnessing the strengths and abilities of others from different corners of your ecosystem is one
of the most strategic ways for businesses to scale their innovation and solve complex challenges. In
today's fast-paced environment, a "do-it-alone" approach is not the best strategy for growth. Companies
that initially grew organically need to look for new ways to drive collaborative innovation that delivers on
what their customers need today – and in the future.

Collaboration and strategic partnerships are fundamental to improving business outcomes. I've worked in
the payments industry for more than 20 years – first at American Express and now at PayPal Canada –
and have struck more than 50 major partnerships and strategic alliances that brought innovation and
improved offerings to customers.

Strategic partnerships benefit everyone: businesses, employees and customers. Businesses can broaden
their relevance and increase their addressable market; customers benefit from the strengths and offerings
each organization brings to the table; and employees can expand their development opportunities by
being exposed to new perspectives and expertise. Plus, deepening ties between complementary businesses
fosters collaboration and longevity, and allows companies to offer services and solutions that help their
customers and other businesses become more successful.

Some organizations may be resistant to partnering with a company that competes with them for customers
or profits, and some employees may not feel the need to collaborate internally in new or unexpected
ways. The reality of today's business landscape, however, means that partnerships are keys to better
serving customers by merging talent, expertise, technology and purpose. While the rewards are great,
strategic partnerships require thoughtful consideration to ensure success is achieved.
Unlike many traditional manufacturers, Tesla operates as an original equipment manufacturer (OEM),
manufacturing powertrain components for other automakers. Tesla has had partnerships
with Daimler and Toyota. It also works with Panasonic as a partner in battery and solar panel research
and development. The company supplies battery packs for Freightliner Trucks' Custom Chassis electric
van .

Tesla partnered with several firms due to the below reasons:

 Tesla’s partnership with lotus gained the company access to Lotus experience and expertise.

 Tesla’s partnership with Daimler gained the company access to needed financial resources.

 The Toyota partnership allowed Tesla to purchase an important production facility in California.

 Tesla-Panasonic battery production partnership gained Tesla great control over batteries supply.

 The Pros and Cons of a Partnership:

If you’re starting a business and have one or more partners, it might seem obvious to form a
business partnership. This is a business structure that allows you and at least one other person to both
have ownership of the business.

There are three types of partnerships: general partnerships, limited partnerships, and limited liability
partnerships. While each type has specific pros and cons, there are partnership pros and cons that cover
them all.

 Pros of a partnership
Here are the advantages of having a business partner:
1. You have an extra set of hands

Business owners typically wear multiple hats and juggle many tasks. Owners are surrounded by constant
busyness, late nights, and smoldering problems.

When you have a business partner, you have a person—or multiple people—who can help you with all
the business tasks. The partners can divide up tasks, meaning tasks will get done faster and the partners
might be able to tackle more than if they worked alone.

2. You benefit from additional knowledge

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Partners can bring skills and knowledge to your business that you don’t have. You might have a lot of
knowledge about the product or service your business provides, but not know how to run a business. You
can bring on a partner who is skilled at running a business.

Your partner might also have past experiences that can help direct your business onto a successful path.

3. You have less financial burden

Starting a business can be expensive. You might have costly overhead expenses for inventory, equipment,
retail space, etc.

A partner can ease your financial burden. Instead of paying for everything yourself, your partner can split
the cost. Because of the partner’s financial contributions, the business might be able to afford more things
up front. And, you might be able to avoid large amounts of debt when starting your business.

4. There is less paperwork

Starting a partnership isn’t difficult. You don’t have to file special paperwork with the federal
government. You probably only have minimal local paperwork.

All partners involved must sign a partnership agreement. This agreement will detail the duties and
responsibilities of each partner, how decisions will be made, how profits and losses are divided, and
more. Creating and signing this document is more simple than filling out the paperwork for other business
structures.

5. There are fewer tax forms

With partnerships, there are no additional business entity taxes. This means you don’t have to fill out and
file business tax forms.

Instead, taxes pass through to the business owners. You will include your share of profits and losses on
your individual tax return. You are liable for paying any additional taxes.

Some Pros of Tesla: Allows Tesla to bring the model S to market

Possibly profit from it

Allow the model to be produced at a lower cost

Returns high profits to Tesla

  Cons of a partnership
Here are the disadvantages of having a business partner:

1) You can’t make decisions on your own

You cannot act independently when you’re in a partnership. You must work with your partner to make
decisions, or at least run all decisions by your partner.

If your partner does act alone and makes a reckless decision, all partners are responsible for the decision
and results. The reckless partner cannot be held solely responsible.

2) You’ll have disagreements

Anytime you get people together at work, there’s potential for conflict. You and your partners will have
disagreements. You might even get sick of working with each other. If this happens, you can’t easily
dissolve the partnership. Hopefully, you’ve drawn up a partnership exit strategy. You’ll need to
redistribute profits, losses, and responsibilities among any remaining partners. And, you must change
your business structure.

3) You have to split profits

When you run a business by yourself, you have an opportunity to gain all the profits from the business.
But when you have a partnership, you have to share the profits. Depending on how many partners you
have, your share of the profits can get fairly small.

4) You aren’t separate from the business

A partnership is not a separate legal entity from you and the other partners. All partners are legally and
financially responsible for the business. If your business faces legal problems, you won’t be considered
separately from your business. And, if your business isn’t able to pay back debts, debt collectors can
come after your personal money.

5) You’re taxed individually

While being taxed individually is a pro, it’s also a con. Generally, business taxes have lower rates than
individual taxes. Because the taxes are passed through to you and your partner(s), you might collectively
pay more than if you paid business taxes.

Some Cons of Tesla: Less oversight

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 Less liquidity for shareholders

Less free publicity

Share valuation

3. What does Tesla’s partnership strategy look like? Why has it

developed in the fashion?
Knowing that Tesla is a leading electric car manufacturer, it is also facing problems in batteries. It is the
most expensive part, requires long time charging and is subject to deterioration in Battery electric
vehicles. Prices are also a disadvantage of BEV: Tesla’s Model S was selling for 63 570$ for the 230
miles’ edition, 73 570$ for the 300 miles’ version which also came with additional upgrades to the
interior, suspension and wheels, and 83 570$ for the performance edition. This is why Tesla opted a
partnership strategy and the most important partnerships were:

1-Lotus: Lotus Helped tesla model the Roadster using the Lotus Elise Template and Lotus software tools.
It was also manufactured by the same Norwegian company that built the Elise. Tesla in this case
Benefitted from the R&D done by Lotus.

2- Daimler: Tesla Helped Daimler build powertrains for smart cars as well as a new Mercedes-Benz
vehicle with a full Tesla Powertrain while Daimler helped Tesla with its experience in engineering and
vehicle quality.

3-Toyota: In addition to Daimler, Toyota was also interested in partnering with Tesla. Tesla Motors
helped Toyota in the developing of the electric powertrain for the RaV4 small sized SUV. As a return,
Toyota has aided Tesla Motors by providing engineering and production expertise for its Model S.
Through this partnership, Toyota has learned from the challenging spirit, quick decision-making, and
flexibility that Tesla has, while Tesla learned from Toyota’s legendary engineering, manufacturing, and
production expertise.

Toyota bought 50 million $ of tesla’s stock in 2010. Tesla got ownership of the New United Motor
Manufacturing, Inc (NUMMI). Tesla manufactured the Model S in the Fremont, California factory that it
purchased from Toyota for 42 million dollars in 2010.
4-Panasonic: The main component of Tesla is the battery pack. That is why the partnership between Tesla
Motors and the battery cell manufacturer “Panasonic” is one of its most significant partnerships.
Panasonic and Tesla worked together on introducing new and improved batteries that meet Tesla’s target
cost for the battery component of the car (nickel-based lithium-ion battery cells for electric vehicles).

With respect to Tesla and Daimler’s partnership, they cooperated on a greater scale in the developing of
electric drive and battery systems as well as individual vehicle projects. That way, both companies benefit
from each other.

4. What should Tesla’s future partnership strategy look like?

Elon Musk's plans for the coming decade are nothing short of ambitious.

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Among other things, Tesla's CEO has promised to dramatically increase car production, launch several
completely new cars, and conquer self-driving vehicles by 2020.

Here's a closer look at what exactly Musk has promised Tesla will accomplish during the next few years.

➢ Complete its giant Gigafactory.

Musk's giant battery factory in Nevada is key to Tesla's future because it is expected to help the company
cut the cost of its batteries by as much as 30%.

The Gigafactory, about 5.5 million square feet, would help the company dramatically cut the cost of its
batteries once it's fully operational in 2018 by "using economies of scale, innovative manufacturing,
reduction of waste, and the simple optimization of locating most manufacturing process under one roof."

In fact, Tesla has said it will create more battery cells at the Gigafactory than all of the lithium-ion battery
makers combined did in 2013.

➢ Bring the Model 3 into production.

The batteries created at the Gigafactory would enable Tesla to produce its first mass-market car, the
Model 3.

It will be about $35,000 and have a range of more than 200 miles per charge.

Tesla started production of the Model 3 earlier this month and plans to begin deliveries at a company
event on Friday.

➢ Launch a compact SUV, dubbed the Model Y, by the end of 2019 or early 2020.
In July 2016, Musk confirmed Tesla planned to bring to market a new compact SUV, dubbed the Model Y.
But a timeline for the vehicle wasn't disclosed until May, when Musk said during the company's first-
quarter earnings call that it would arrive by late 2019 or 2020. He also said the vehicle would be built on
a platform separate from the Model 3.

➢ Reveal an electric semi-truck in September...

Musk announced in August that the company was working on a Tesla semi-truck, in his "Master Plan,
Part Deux."

In June, though, Musk said Tesla was working with major trucking companies to design the company's
first all-electric semi-truck.

"We are showing off a working prototype at the end of September, but we have shown it to people who
buy heavy-duty trucking, and they all love it," Musk said during Tesla's annual shareholder meeting.
"They just want to know how many can they buy and how soon."

While we will most likely get a look at the electric semi in a few months, it's still not clear when the truck
would be available.

➢ ... and an electric pickup truck before the close of 2019.

Musk also said in his "Master Plan, Part Deux" that Tesla would build an electric pickup truck for
consumers.

Musk said in April that Tesla would reveal its semi-truck in September and its consumer pickup truck in
18 months to two years, meaning sometime between October 2018 and April 2019.

➢ Increase the range of Tesla cars to 1,000 kilometers per charge.

Tesla's cars already boast the best range on the market, but Musk has said he aims to dramatically increase
how far Tesla's cars travel on a single charge.

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"The record right now for the Model S is 800 kilometers (497 miles). That is the furthest that anyone has
driven a Model S," Musk told the Danish news site Borsen in September 2015. "My guess is probably we
could break 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) within a year or two. I'd say 2017 for sure."

Musk added that by 2020 Tesla could most likely make its cars go as far as 745 miles per charge.

While the record for hypermiling in a Tesla is about 560 miles, the official range for Tesla's Model S
P100D is about 315 miles per charge, according to ratings by the Environmental Protection Agency.

➢ Make its cars fully autonomous.

Another bold promise Musk has made for Tesla is that its cars will be autonomous before 2020.

Tesla began rolling out its new Enhanced Autopilot hardware in October. Musk said at the time that the
hardware would enable full autonomy once the software was ready.

However, Musk has said it's unlikely regulators will have laws in place by the time Tesla's autonomous
cars are ready, so drivers may have to wait a little longer before getting to go hands-free.

While the company plans to do a demo drive in a Tesla in self-driving mode from Los Angeles to New
York City by the end of this year, Musk said during a TED Talk in April that it would most likely be 2019
before a driver could take a nap behind the wheel of a Tesla.

➢ Turn Tesla into an energy company.

Musk doesn't just want Tesla to make electric cars, he also wants the company to produce the energy that
powers the cars.
In November, Tesla acquired Solar City, a solar-power company founded by Musk's cousin, Lyndon Rive.

Musk has made clear that his long-term vision for Tesla is a full-service sustainable-energy company.

"The opportunity here is to have a highly innovative sustainable-energy company that answers the whole
energy question from power generation and storage to transport," Musk told reporters during a call shortly
after the announcement in June 2016.

"We are a sustainable-energy company," he added. "This is, broadly speaking, right in line with that. In
order to solve the sustainable-energy problem you need generation, storage, and electric cars."

In October, right before shareholders voted on the Solar City acquisition, Musk revealed the Tesla Solar
Roof. It's composed of solar shingles and is Tesla's energy-generation solution.

The company began taking orders in May for its Solar Roof, which costs about $21.85 per square foot.

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