Innovative Technology Management 

The Development of Electric Vehicles: Tesla’s Technology Management Initiative

Student’s Name

Course

Professor’s Name

University

City (State)

Date
 Innovative Technology Management 2

Abstract

Electric Vehicles are an important energy in that they are environmentally friendly as compared

to the traditional fuel based vehicles. This particularly includes prevention of environmental

pollution as well as reducing overreliance on petroleum fuels thereby helping combat global

warming. Tesla Inc. is a giant American based electric vehicle and clean energy Company which

primarily focuses on the design and manufacturing of electric vehicles, rechargeable batteries as

well as related products and services. The company has undertaken a number of hard change

management strategies to in its electric vehicle technology management namely systems

engineering and formal planning. For example, the company has embarked on a wide range of

systems engineering strategies aimed at developing unique and innovative electric vehicle

products. On the other hand, The soft change management at Tesla Inc. entails adopting a wide

range of system intervention strategies designed to ensure sustainability productivity and

profitability of the company in its electric vehicle technology.

 Innovative Technology Management 3

Table of Contents
Abstract…………………………………………………………………………….……………………….2
Introduction.................................................................................................................................................4
Tesla’s Electric Vehicle Technology Management......................................................................................5
Hard Change Management......................................................................................................................5
Soft Change Management........................................................................................................................6
Tesla’s Technology Roadmap for the Next 5 Years....................................................................................8
Analysis and Critique of Key Drivers........................................................................................................10
Analysis and Critique of Resistance to Change.........................................................................................12
Hard and Soft System Changes.................................................................................................................12
Major Risks Within the Industry for Tesla’s Initiative..............................................................................12
References.................................................................................................................................................13
 Innovative Technology Management 4

The Development of Electric Vehicles: Tesla’s Technology Management Initiative

Introduction

Electric Vehicle technology is currently one of the innovative technology solutions which

involve the development of cars which primarily use electric energy as opposed to the traditional

fuel engines. The cars particularly work by taking electricity from the grid through plug in

charging which is then stored in rechargeable batteries. There are number types of electric cars

plug-n electric vehicle, plug-in hybrid vehicles as well as hybrid vehicles. Plug-in vehicles

primarily run on electricity and do not require any other source of power (Andwari, et al., 2017,

p.414). On the other hand, plug-in hybrid vehicles mainly use electricity but also possess a

traditional fuel engine which helps then run when they are out of charge. Finally, hybrid vehicle

technology consists of vehicles which run on fuel and also contain batteries which are mainly

charged via regenerative braking.

Electric Vehicles are an important energy in that they are environmentally friendly as

compared to the traditional fuel based vehicles. This particularly includes prevention of

environmental pollution as well as reducing overreliance on petroleum fuels thereby helping

combat global warming. As a result, the development of electric vehicle technology is widely

considered to be an important solution for the current environmental issues as well as energy

crisis (Adnan, et al., 2018, p.292). This paper critically discusses the development of electric

vehicles with particular focus on Tesla’s electric vehicle technology management, its technology

roadmap, key drivers, and major risks of change.

Tesla’s Electric Vehicle Technology Management

Tesla Inc. is a giant American based electric vehicle and clean energy Company which primarily

focuses on the design and manufacturing of electric vehicles, rechargeable batteries as well as
 Innovative Technology Management 5

related products and services. Founded in the year 2003, Tesla has grown over the years to

become the leading manufacture of electric vehicles. Today, the company not only produces the

largest number of reliable electric vehicles in the world but is also a leading manufacturer of

clean energy generation as well as clean energy storage products. This is particularly consistent

with the company’s vision of accelerating the global switch from fossil fuel based transport

towards clean zero-emission vehicles.

Hard Change Management

Tesla has undertaken a number of hard change management strategies to in its electric

vehicle technology management namely systems engineering and formal planning. For example,

the company has embarked on a wide range of systems engineering strategies aimed at

developing unique and innovative electric vehicle products. For example, Tesla’s model of

electric vehicle technology management involves identifying and innovating new clean energy

technologies and implementing them in order to improve the company’s profitability and

productivity.

Generally, the company is primarily focused on fostering rapid innovation and industrial

expansion of electric vehicle and clean energy product manufacturing. This is particularly

influenced by the current strong initiatives of government to adopt clean energy as part of the

efforts of combating climate change. The company first established itself in the electric vehicle

market by adopting a unique business approach of focusing on the producing expensive luxury

electric vehicles instead of mass producing affordable electric cars.

 Innovative Technology Management 6

Figure 1: Multiple cause diagram of Tesla’s technology management initiative

With regard to formal planning, Tesla currently employs a team known as Tesla Rangers,

who are highly mobile technicians that are charged with the responsibility of carrying out house

calls in various locations. The mobile technical service is sometimes provided remotely. This is

critically important The Model S currently possess a unique ability to remotely transfer data

thereby enabling the technical personnel to effectively inspect and solve various technical issues

without ever having to be next to the vehicle. Finally, Tesla has effectively developed its own

network of a series of supercharger stations from which drivers may receive a free charge for

their Tesla vehicles in approximately 30 minutes. The primary goal is to accelerate a rapid

adoption of electric vehicles by making them cheaper and much easier to maintain.

Soft Change Management

The soft change management at Tesla Inc entails adopting a wide range of system

intervention strategies designed to ensure sustainability productivity and profitability of the

company in its electric vehicle technology. Tesla is currently positioning itself to enable make it

profit from public efforts as well as to cut emissions by developing rechargeable batteries, solar

panels, and charging stations for their electric vehicles. Climate change, on the other hand, is

forcing governments to fund renewable energy industries with subsidies and incentives.

According to Akakpo, et al. (2019, p.57), this trend had an influence on Tesla's business strategy
 Innovative Technology Management 7

since it created a potential for fast industry growth. The investments of the company are widely

seen as an attempt to establish Tesla as a clean or green energy powerhouse.

Upon its entrance in the market with high end luxury vehicles and establishing its brand

in the market, Tesla, reinforced its business management model by adopting a three tier approach

of conducting direct sales, provision of services as well as charging of electric vehicles. For

example, unlike many car manufacturing companies which focus on selling their car products

using franchised car dealerships, Tesla adopted an approach of selling its electric vehicle

products directly to its customers. This has particularly been achieved through the establishment

of a web of international Tesla owned showrooms which directly sell to customers. Tesla

strongly believes that if the company owns the sale channels, it will be able to significantly

accelerate the development of its own unique products thereby giving it a competitive advantage.

In addition, this will also significantly improve the purchase experience for the company’s

customers.

Figure 2: Tesla’s system intervention strategy

 Innovative Technology Management 8

Tesla’s Technology Roadmap for the Next 5 Years

Tesla recently unveiled a 5 year roadmap which is primarily aimed at commercializing its

current electric vehicles, directing the development of the company’s autonomous vehicle

technology and revolutionizing the transport industry. One of the primary focuses of the

company is to develop affordable electric vehicles within the next 5 years. For example, Regular

paid people are no longer buying electric automobiles (Kancherla & Daim, 2018, p.347). They

primarily target the high-end automotive market. The battery is the most costly component of an

electric car. The corporation wants to save costs by lowering battery costs. To do this, the

corporation has experimented with different ideas, such as eliminating interior amenities and

style in order to make the automobile more inexpensive.

Another milestone Tesla intends to achieve within the next 5 years is to develop less

toxic batteries. To make the battery more environmentally friendly, the hazardous battery must

be replaced. There is study being done on this problem, and Lithium ion batteries are being

examined as an option. Taking this into consideration will make the car more environmentally

friendly. The organization plans to do this by utilizing renewable energy to the greatest extent

possible. Even though electric automobiles are thought to be environmentally friendly, there are

still methods to make them even more so. One of them is the use of solar energy to boost the

efficiency and performance of electric cars. PV-powered vehicles and PV-powered recharge

stations may produce electricity.

Moreover, within the next five years, Tesla also intends to achieve longer mileage

between recharges. The battery is the most important component of an electric vehicle. Increases

in battery performance, as well as other technologies covered by technology, will improve the

distance between recharging. This is one of the market's biggest flaws. With technological
 Innovative Technology Management 9

advancements, the mileage objective continues to rise. Similarly, Tesla also plans to increase the

availability of its electric vehicle recharging facilities. Because there are now fewer charging

stations available, it is critical to build new facilities and improve existing stations in conjunction

with technology and electrical firms (Kancherla & Daim, 2018, p.350). Governments and

businesses must take steps to standardize their availability. Setting up plug-in stations is also

critically important for the future success of the company. Finally, Tesla is also seeking to lower

the regarding prices of Electric vehicles. For example, another issue that has to be addressed is

the cost of recharging. This is mostly due to upcoming technology advancements in the EV

business, such as smart grid and PV-powered stations. This is a prospective gap that will be filled

if technological advancements continue. After identifying specific gaps, the next step is to relate

them to market drivers. Understanding the market will provide insight into product demands

during the technological road mapping process.

Finally, Tesla has a number of competitors and market rivals some of which include

Volkswagen, Nissan and General Motors. Tesla's market share is likely to shrink in the future

years as the number of electric vehicles grows from a few dozen now to hundreds by 2025. The

new EVs are being planned as bigger manufacturers, such as GM and Volkswagen, convert to

virtually entirely producing electric vehicles within next decades or so. Tesla's present market

domination is over a minuscule market. Despite all of the attention and hoopla surrounding

electric vehicles, sales of all-electric and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles which combine electric

motors with an internal combustion engine are still in the minority.

Analysis and Critique of Key Drivers

There are a number of key drivers of Tesla’s Electric Vehicles Market some of which

include rising demand for green or clean energy transportation, government incentives such as
 Innovative Technology Management 10

task benefits, rising demand for low cost transportation as well as emerging technologies for the

manufacturing of different components of electric vehicles such as their batteries and charging

systems. Firstly, government incentives such as task benefits are increasingly being regarded as

the key drivers for the electric vehicle market. With rising gas costs in recent years, energy

security has been a major issue for both the state and federal governments. Furthermore,

environmental concerns and related international obligations prompted governments to

implement certain incentives. These investments not only support the manufacturing and

development of electric vehicles but also the successful design and deployment of their

components such as batteries.

On the other hand, the rising demand for green or clean energy transportation is a major

driver in the electric vehicle management industry. Green mobility, such as public transit,

walking, and biking, has become increasingly popular as people become more concerned about

environmental concerns such as CO2 emissions and rising GHG levels. Electric vehicles, as a

form of green transportation, have attracted the attention of societies and governments to the

point where annual sales of various types of electric cars, including EVs, will increase

dramatically besides 2050, while the number of sold conventional gasoline and diesel cars will

decrease dramatically. According to a research conducted by the International Energy Agency,

the number of electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles sold globally by 2050 would be about 106.4

million as shown in the figure below.

 Innovative Technology Management 11

Figure 3: Fish bone diagram of the key drivers for Tesla’s Technology Management Initiative

Rising demand for green Government

or clean energy incentives such as task
transportation benefits

Tesla’s Technology
Management
Initiative

Rising demand for Emerging technologies for the

low cost manufacturing of different components
transportation of electric vehicles such as their
batteries and charging systems

Analysis and Critique of Resistance to Change

One of the major challenges which has faced Tesla in its electric vehicle management

is the resistance to change among the target consumers. Friction can arise from a lack of

understanding of a new technology's features, as well as from the ordinary human aversion to

change. People thought electric cars were sluggish, unattractive, and had a short range when

Tesla was founded (and they were). Tesla touted the Roadster's rapid acceleration, sleek, sporting

appearance, and 245-mile range when it was first debuted.

Hard and Soft System Changes

Tesla’s electric vehicle management is currently facing the challenge of a number of hard

and soft system changes. For example, many new technologies in the manufacturing of a wide
 Innovative Technology Management 12

range of hardware and software components of electric vehicles are increasingly being adopted.

For example, Tesla is currently faced with the challenges of dealing with a highly disruption

industry when it comes to the manufacturing of various components of electric vehicles such as

rechargeable batteries, engines among others.

Major Risks Within the Industry for Tesla’s Initiative

There are a few risks associated with Tesla’s initiative in the electric car industry. Firstly,

Tesla is currently facing the increased risk of lawsuits due to failure of car parts of their electric

vehicles. Any of an electric car's high-tech components might fail, resulting in damage. When

this happens, the automobile maker faces a product responsibility lawsuit (Khaire, 2018). The

court will have to determine which of the entities that might have averted the disaster and should

have been aware of the risk bears the greatest amount of blame. Another risk facing the initiative

is the risk of high costs involved when dealing with disruptive technologies such as the

manufacture of rechargeable batteries.

 Innovative Technology Management 13

References

Adnan, N., Nordin, S. M., Rahman, I., Vasant, P., & Noor, M. A. (2018). An overview of electric

vehicle technology: a vision towards sustainable transportation. Intelligent transportation

and planning: breakthroughs in research and practice, 292-309.

Andwari, A. M., Pesiridis, A., Rajoo, S., Martinez-Botas, R., & Esfahanian, V. (2017). A review

of Battery Electric Vehicle technology and readiness levels. Renewable and Sustainable

Energy Reviews, 78, 414-430.

Akakpo, A., Gyasi, E. A., Oduro, B., & Akpabot, S. (2019). Foresight, organization policies and

management strategies in electric vehicle technology advances at tesla. In Futures

Thinking and Organizational Policy (pp. 57-69). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.

Kancherla, Y. D., & Daim, T. U. (2018). Technology Roadmap: A Roadmap for Tesla.

In Infrastructure and Technology Management (pp. 347-366). Springer, Cham.

Khaire, M. V. (2018). Electrical vehicles' bearings: technological impact, applications and

requirements. International Journal of Electric and Hybrid Vehicles, 10(4), 310-318.