Mechanical Design and Development: Tesla Inc.

Running head: MECHANICAL DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT
1
MECHANICAL DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT: TESLA INC.
NAME
INSTITUTIONAL AFFILIATION

MECHANICAL DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT2
Introduction
Tesla, Inc which was formerly known as Tesla Motors, is an American Electric-cars
and automobile factory. Founded in 2003 by an American entrepreneurs Martin Eberhard and
Marc Tarpenning designed who decided to name the product and the company after a Serbian
American Inventor Nikola Tesla. The original idea was to form a sports car that is electric. The
company got its funding mostly from PayPal and a cofounder Elon Musk, these two contributed
a total of $30 million (Erik & Schreiber, 2019).
The basic operation of Tesla cars/automobiles is related to the basic knowledge of
how phones or laptops are charged, then later used off-grid, the electric cars uses the same
principle. They have lithium-ion batteries, just the same as the ones used to power the devices
mentioned, only that they are numerous cells put together. These batteries are manufactured
within the company, Tesla Bay HQ and equipped with a heat resistance, and generates heats as
well, which material that guarantees 100% functioning in every weather. The batteries are
charged using different techniques, one of the ways are very simple, by just installation of a
charging station where the car is plugged and its charges, this requires someone with the know-
how (Smith, 2019). Solar panels can be installed, so that as the vehicle moves, the battery gets
charged, or during the reverse of the car, the battery can get charged, which shall be discussed
further in this paper. Generally, Tesla cars will and have to some extent revolutionize the way
cars are operated.
In this paper, we are going to discuss the technological life cycle the model belongs,
the factors affecting the production of late and what we think shall be the main impediment in
the future, and the strategic approaches the product can be developed that attract more buyers.

MECHANICAL DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT3
The Technological Innovation Model
Looking at the James Utterback dynamic model of technological innovation, there
are three level mentioned, the fluid phase, transitional phase and the specific phase. The fluid
phase takes place when launching a product in the new market (Kairos management , 2013).
At this phase, there shall be a merger of designs, because the technocrats are starting to question
themselves what works and what doesn’t. at this stage, there’s experimentations of the product
going on (Izw, 2006). The second phase is the transitional phase, at this stage the producers or
innovators are beginning to learn more about the product and how the market is reacting to the
new innovation. This phase is what the innovators call the transitional phase, the product
transition into an amalgamation of design ideas that covers the market. The dominant design has
characteristics that must be adhered to by the innovators and competitors, to have a great market
share (Utterback, 1994). The last phase is the specific phase, this phase the designed products
now focuses on the performance and the cost. The market segments are now clear in the minds of
corporates and focus can now be shifted to certain markets where the product buyers seem to
have affinity.
Having viewed the three phases, and looking at our product, we can say that Tesla is
in the specific stage of innovation. Tesla Inc. was in the first stage, fluid stage of innovation in
2003, when it was founded, when the idea of electric car was revived in the motor industry. In
2008, the first car was released, which was completely electric and tested in a stretch of 394Km
or 245 miles, when it was charged on one go. After much criticism, Tesla stopped producing the
Roadster, the first produced car that was tested, which dwells much on the performance and
design. This prompted the company on the battery design to give much more power to the new
car design, so that on a single charge, the car could now go for a maximum of 483Km or about

MECHANICAL DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT4
300 miles. With the design of the Model S having its battery on the floor of the car unlike the
earlier model where the battery was in the front (Erik & Schreiber, 2019). After the car
appealing to many across America, Tesla continued to grow in sales and stations begun being
developed across America, which were now called Tesla stations. Another model was released
called Model X, which is a vehicle with a sports car feature. Released in 2015, this car now even
stretches for longer distances. Model X became more expensive for people and Tesla in 2017
unveiled another model called Model 3, with much lower distance ranges, of about 354km or
220 miles and the price went much lower than the previous models, $35,000. In 2010 (Varty,
2018), the company was listed in the US securities or stock market. Their sale is mostly
dominated by Americans, with 7% 2018 market share of electric cars, Model 3 is also ranked the
highest in sale among the 20 electric cars in the world (Shahan, 2019).
Factors Affecting the company
In looking at these factors we shall consider the Political, Economic, Social, and
Technological factors (PEST) theory.
Political factors
As we have seen, Tesla Inc. thrives in the fact that it uses electricity to run unlike the
other conventional vehicles that uses fossil fuels to run. The US government at some point took a
stance to develop the electric engines and even those of hybrid cars. This has improved the sale
of Tesla cars because the US government said to have make the buyers of these cars qualify for
tax credits of at least $5,000 (Frue, 2018). This incentive has given Tesla a notch in improving
sales and targeting new markets. The global trade agreements have also made Tesla be friendly
to other nations, this has seen the company expand into other foreign markets. In countries where