TESLA$$S MASTER PLAN $1$

In a blog entry on Tesla$$s website in $2006,$ Elon Musk explained the startup$$s initial master plan:$14$

$1.$ Build a sports car.

$2.$ Use that money to build an affordable car.

$3.$ Use that money to build an even more affordable car.

$4.$ While doing the above, also provide zero$-$emission electric power generation options.

$4$ Copyright $2023$ McGraw Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction, distribution, or posting online without the prior written consent of

Step $1.$ In $2008,$ Tesla introduced its first car: the Roadster, a $$110,000$ sports coupe with faster acceleration than a Porsche or a Ferrari. The initial Roadster was an Elise model by British sports carmaker Lotus, retrofitted with an electric motor and drivetrain. This is the reason why the manufacturing process was not scalable, with a peak pro$-$ duction rate of no more than two cars per day. Tesla built $2,500$ Roadsters, and sold all of them.

Step $2.$ In $2012,$ Tesla discontinued the production of the Roadster to focus on Step $2$ of its Master Plan. It designed the Model S from scratch with the idea to create the best possible EV that is also scalable for mass produc$-$ tion. The Model S is a four$-$door family sedan with an initial base price of $$73,500.$ With a somewhat greater market appeal, the Model S allows for larger production runs to drive down unit costs. The Model S was named the Motor Trend Car of the Year and received the highest score $(99/100)$ of any car ever tested by Consumer Reports.

In $2012,$ Tesla also unveiled the Model X$,$ a crossover between an SUV and a family van with futuristic falcon$-$ wing doors for convenient access to second$-$ and third$-$row seating. The Model X has a similar range as the Model S$,$ with between $250-330$ miles per charge. Technical difficulties with its innovative doors, however, delayed its launch until the fall of $2015.$ The initial base price of the Model X was $$80,000,$ with the signature premium line ranging costing up to $$144,000,$ thus limiting its mass$-$market appeal.

Step $3.$ In $2016,$ it unveiled the Model $3,$ an all$-$electric compact luxury sedan with an envisioned starting price for the entry version of $$35,000.$ Many people who wanted the new Model $3$ stood in line overnight, eagerly waiting for Tesla stores to open so they could pay their $$1,000$ deposit and secure a spot on the waiting list for a car they had never seen, let alone taken for a test drive. As a result of this consumer enthusiasm, Tesla received more than $500,000$ preorders for the Model $3,$ for a total of $$500$ million in interest$-$free loans.

Despite Tesla$$s initial difficulties in scaling up production, Model $3$ deliveries began in $2017.$ The average selling price for the Model $3$ in $2018$ ranged between $$50,000$ and $$60,000.$ In $2019,$ Tesla launched the Model Y$,$ a compact SUV with the entry version starting at an envisioned $$39,000.$ Deliveries of the Model Y began in $2020,$ with an average selling price of around $$60,000.$

The Models $3/$Y were critical for Tesla to break into the mass market. In $2022,$ Tesla sold $1\mathrm{.}3$ million vehicles worldwide $($Exhibit $4),$ with Models $3/$Y accounting for $96\%$ of sales.

Step $4$ of Musk$$s master plan aims to provide zero$-$emission electric power generation options. To achieve this goal, Tesla acquired SolarCity, a solar energy company, for more than $$2$ billion in $2016.$ please answer to these questions by looking at this text: At which stage of the automotive industry life cycle is the electric vehicle industry? What core competencies are the most important at this stage of

the industry life cycle? Tie your explanation to Tesla$$s Master Plan $1.$ and please draw core competency matrix