Elon Musk and Tesla: An Analysis of the Entrepreneurial Characteristics and Competitive Advantages

This article analyzes the characteristics of Elon Musk as an entrepreneur and the competitive edge he has over other businesses. It explores the innovative notions of the electric car and sustainability. The article also provides recommendations for further business expansion.

Running head: ELON MUSK AND TESLA
Elon Musk and Tesla
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Executive Summary:
Elon Musk is a widely-recognized entrepreneur of the contemporary times. His business
organizations, such as Tesla Inc., are revolutionizing the meaning and implications of
sustainability. Through his innovative notions of the electric car, Musk is weaving an energy
efficient future. However, though he has a competitive edge over his current competition,
there are some aspects that may be implemented in order to further increase his hold on the
market. The main aim of this discussion is to analyze the characteristics of Elon Musk as an
entrepreneur. Furthermore, the competitive edge he has over other businesses and the changes
that might further improve his business have also been explored.

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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Background of Elon Musk.........................................................................................................3
Entrepreneurial Characteristics..................................................................................................4
Opportunity Recognition............................................................................................................5
Competitive Advantages............................................................................................................6
Recommendations......................................................................................................................6
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................7
References..................................................................................................................................8

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Introduction
When one seeks successful entrepreneurs, Elon Musk is most definitely one of the
names that come to mind. His vehicle company, named Tesla, Inc., is an automotive and
energy organization that is based in Palo Alto, California. Musk’s organization focuses on the
manufacturing of electric cars (Carlson 2015). Tesla was established in the year 2003 by a
group of engineers who held the belief that one need not compromise in order to drive an
electric car. Thus, the organization follows the motto that electric cars are a faster, advanced
and cleaner version of the traditional cars that are utilized today (Tesla 2019). Furthermore,
all of Tesla’s vehicles, along with their components, are manufactured in their own factory
located in California. This discussion focuses on the entrepreneur, Elon Musk, and his
dynamic organization Tesla. Moreover, the methods in which the entrepreneur may expand
his business will also be minutely analysed.
Background of Elon Musk
Elon Reeve Musk may be identified as one of the most influential businesmen in the
modern times. He is not only identified as an entrepreneur but he an investor and an engineer
as well. Elon Musk grew up in South Africa and then moved to Canada when he was
seventeen years old. Musk is currently the founder, CEO and additionally lead designer of
SpaceX (Vance and Sanders 2015). Along with this endeavour, he is also the CEO and the
product architect of Tesla, Inc. After assuming leadership of Tesla, Inc., the organization built
its first electric car which was named the Tesla Roadster (Stringham, Miller and Clark 2015).
Thus, Musk was one of the first individuals who envisioned a sustainable future with regards
to energy. Moreover, the Model S sedan, which was established in the year 2012, was
awarded the best overall car according to Consumer reports. In addition, Musk is also the
CEO of Neuralink, an organization that is attempting to form a connection between the

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human brain and computers. Elon Musk is working rapidly to revolutionize the world of
transportation on Earth and also in space. In addition to his achievements at Tesla, SpaceX
now holds a valuation of more than twenty billion dollars. Moreover, in 2017, SpaceX
witnessed the commendable and successful landing of the Falcon 9 rocket. The uniqueness of
the project remains that the rocket was constructed with reusable parts. Musk is also
identified as the founder of X.com in the year 1999, which is now known as PayPal. Hence,
Elon Musk’s efficient and affordable strategies are revolutionizing the modern world.
Entrepreneurial Characteristics
Elon Musk’s success can be measured through the various entrepreneurial
characteristics that he exhibits. Moreover, due to these distinct traits, he is an apt role model
in the field of business. Even though there are many successful businessman, very few are of
his calibre. One of the greatest traits that he possesses is his innovative imagination.
During his college years, Musk identified the three areas that needed to be transformed in
order to create a sustainable world. These fields were the Internet, energy and also the
capability to survive outside of the planet. In fact, the Innovation Theory of Profit suggests
that an entrepreneur can bring about economic profits by establishing successful
innovations (Huggins and Thompson 2015). Thus, the creative and transformative
inventions of Elon Musk has showered him with a great deal of economic profits.
Furthermore, persistence is also a characteristic that is found in Elon Musk. Even though
there were many failures as he attempted to build new infrastructures, his persistence chalked
out the path of his success. This trait of his can be well explained through the theory of
psychological entrepreneurship. This theory explains that the psychology of a successful
innovator is very often immersed in thoughts of growing their business along with procuring
a profit (Espiritu-Olmos and Sastre-Castillo 2015). Lastly, the greatest characteristic that can
be found within Musk is his commitment towards his innovations. Even as Tesla faced

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severe backlash in the recent times regarding the fires, Musk was fully committed towards
resolving the issue. Not only did he effectively provide a solution but he also handled the
criticism in a sophisticated manner. Thus, these characteristics have assisted in shaping Elon
Musk into the influential entrepreneur he is today.
Opportunity Recognition
In various interviews, Elon Musk has vocalized that he had been severely bullied in
school due to his creative innovations (Musk 2017). However, he did not let this hinder him.
Rather, he saw the opportunities that other were blind towards. He recognized how
sustainable energy would revolutionize the world. Thus, in order to work towards his
goals, Musk taught himself the art of coding at the tender age of 10. Since he started young,
he was able to recognize all the potential innovations that were awaiting him. Thus, the rise
of Elon Musk may be cohesively analysed through the economic theory of
entrepreneurship. This theory emphasizes the role of good judgment when it comes to
economic success (Venkataraman 2019). Hence, Musk’s commendable decision making
skills along with his judgment may be some of the major causes of his success. Furthermore,
Elon Musk holds the belief that human-operated vehicles will become extinct in the future
(Jones 2017). This idea of his progresses towards a future of automated cars. Musk
recognizes the dangers of driving and thus his idea suggests a hassle-free experience. This
vision of Musk may be analysed with the assistance of the opportunity-based theory.
Because he was able to identify the innovations that may be developed in the field of vehicles
and driving, he can now offer a solution to the dangers. In addition, another idea that has been
developed by Musk is the concept of SolarCity. SolarCity is a mission that intends to reinvent
the world of energy (Ulanoff 2015). Thus, Musk’s ability to recognize ideas and utilize them
in a revolutionary manner is a major reason for his tremendous success.

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Competitive Advantages
The competitive advantages that Elon Musk’s companies hold over other
organizations are major reasons why his companies are considered the best in their fields.
For instance, Tesla has recently annexed Maxwell Technologies. Maxwell Technologies is
a battery component producer who is working towards producing efficient energy storage.
Since batteries are one of the most essential components of the electric vehicle, this
acquisition provides Tesla a competitive edge over the other organizations. Hence, Tesla
is now able to produce batteries at a significantly lower rate. Moreover, as Tesla advances its
research and innovation into battery technology, it is able to raise its profit margins to a great
extent (Hull 2016). In fact, Tesla’s greatest competitive edge over other companies is that
it is primarily a technology company that is structuring technology platforms. Thus, it is
proving itself to be a leader in the energy industry. Due to Musk’s expertise in the field of
data analytics, he will be able to utilize this knowledge to upgrade the vehicle industry.
Moreover, Musk’s idea of innovation is at direct competition with Warren Buffett’s idea of
‘moats.’ While Buffett identifies that there is need for a competitive edge in order to ward off
rivals, Musk believes that innovation is the key to gain an edge over competitors (Finkle
2017). Musk has been able to prove his statement as his innovations have been
successful in revolutionizing the world of energy and vehicles.
Recommendations
Even though Elon Musk has been extremely efficient when it comes to his various
ventures, there may be a few aspects that he may improve in order to keep his businesses
on track. For instance, Musk may appoint a chief operating officer for his business, Tesla. A
significant criticism of Tesla has been that he does not deliver on his given promises. In order
to curb this accusation, he may hire a well-trained operating officer who would be able to fill
in the gaps that Musk is unable to fill. This would enable Tesla to avail a greater amount of

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profits. Moreover, in order to gain a competitive edge in the global market, Tesla may
venture into the emerging markets in China. Tesla would be able to avail the huge market of
China and thus consequently fulfil their demands. However, since Tesla is a high-tech
company, they require an extensive amount of research in order gain an edge over their
competition.
Conclusion
Hence, it can be deduced that Elon Musk is one of the greatest entrepreneurs of the
current times. Whether it is revolutionizing the future or sustaining the energy sources that
are available, Musk has been successfully accomplishing both these activities. Furthermore,
Musk’s Tesla is one of the most innovative vehicle companies that is seeking to modify the
experience of cars altogether. Furthermore, his competitive edge over the other businesses are
strongly commendable. Even though Musk’s ventures are highly successful, there are certain
aspects that he may look into to expand his business even further. Hence, it can be concluded
that Elon Musk and his dynamic organizations, such as Tesla Inc., are shaping the future in
an admirable and praiseworthy manner.

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References
Carlson, W. B. (2015). Tesla: Inventor of the electrical age. Princeton University Press.
Espiritu-Olmos, R. and Sastre-Castillo, M.A., 2015. Personality traits versus work values:
Comparing psychological theories on entrepreneurial intention. Journal of Business
Research, 68(7), pp.1595-1598.
Finkle, T.A., 2017. Warren E. Buffett: Entrepreneur, investor, and philanthropist.
Huggins, R. and Thompson, P., 2015. Entrepreneurship, innovation and regional growth: a
network theory. Small Business Economics, 45(1), pp.103-128.
Hull, D., 2016. The Tesla advantage: 1.3 billion miles of data. Bloomberg, December, 20.
Jones, L., 2017. Driverless cars: when and where?. Engineering & Technology, 12(2), pp.36-
40.
Musk, E., 2017. A Conversation with Elon Musk. Interview at World Government
Summit, 15.
Stringham, E.P., Miller, J.K. and Clark, J.R., 2015. Overcoming barriers to entry in an
established industry: Tesla Motors. California Management Review, 57(4), pp.85-103.
Tesla (2019). About Tesla | Tesla. [online] Tesla.com. Available at:
https://www.tesla.com/en_AU/about?redirect=no [Accessed 16 Aug. 2019].
Ulanoff, L., 2015. Elon Musk and SolarCity unveil ‘world’s most efficient’solar
panel. Mashable, October, 2.
Vance, A. and Sanders, F., 2015. Elon Musk. HarperCollins.

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Venkataraman, S., 2019. The distinctive domain of entrepreneurship research. In Seminal
Ideas for the Next Twenty-Five Years of Advances (pp. 5-20). Emerald Publishing Limited.