TESLA’s DIFFERENTIATION STRATEGY

Tesla took a unique approach to getting its first vehicle in the market. Instead of
trying to build a relatively affordable car that it could mass produce and market, it
took the opposite approach, focusing instead of creating a compelling car.
So, Tesla delivered to the market the first high-performance electric luxury sport
car, the Tesla Roadster. The company sold approximately 2,500 Roadsters before
ending production in January 2012.
Once Tesla established its brand and had produced and delivered its concept car
to the marketplace, it reinforced its business model. Tesla's business model is
based on a three-pronged approach to selling, servicing, and charging its electric
vehicle
Service
Super-Charger Network
 Direct Sales -It has created an international network of company-owned
showrooms and galleries, mostly in prominent urban centers around the
world. By owning the sales channel, Tesla believes it can gain an advantage
in the speed of its product development. But more importantly, it also
creates a better customer buying experience. Unlike car dealerships, Tesla
showrooms have no conflict of interest. Also, customers only deal with
Tesla-employed sales and service staff. Including the showrooms, Service
Plus centers (a combination of retail and service center), and service
facilities
 Service-Tesla has combined many sales centers with service centers. They
believe that opening a service center in a new area corresponds with
increased customer demand. Customers can charge or service their vehicles
at the service centers or the Service Plus locations. Also, in certain areas,
Tesla employs what it calls Tesla Rangers – mobile technicians who can
service vehicles from your house. Sometimes, no onsite technician is
required at all. The Model Scan wirelessly upload data so technicians can
view and fix some problems online without ever needing to physically
touch the car.
 Supercharger network-Tesla has created its own network of Supercharger
stations, places where drivers can fully charge their Tesla vehicles in about
 30 minutes for free. The premise behind building and owning these stations
is to speed up the rate of adoption for electric cars.
Tesla will continue adding to the network of Supercharger stations in the
United States, Europe, and Asia.
SWOT ANALYSIS OF TESLA

Tesla’s generic competitive strategy is broad differentiation. This

generic strategy builds competitive advantage based on the
development of products that differentiate the company from other
firms in the industry. For example, Tesla Inc.’s products are competitive
because they integrate advanced environmentally friendly technology,
considering that the vast majority of automobiles today use internal
combustion engines. In using this generic competitive strategy, the
company broadly attracts all potential customers, who are now
increasingly interested in environmentally friendly products. Initially,
Tesla used differentiation focus as its generic strategy for competitive
advantage. In applying the differentiation focus strategy, the company
emphasized the uniqueness of its products, but also focused mainly on
early adopters in the high-end market for electric vehicles.