Tesla SWOT Analysis: Uncover Key Insights

This is a free Tesla SWOT analysis available for all students. You should use it only as a reference. You can also chech our private Tesla SWOT Analysis.

Table of Contents

Company Details

Founded:	July 1, 2003, San Carlos, California, United States
CEO:	Elon Musk (Oct 2008–)
Revenue:	53.82 billion USD (2021)
Headquarters:	Austin, Texas, United States
Number of employees:	99,290 (2021)
Founders:	Elon Musk, Martin Eberhard, JB Straubel, Marc Tarpenning, Ian Wright
Subsidiaries:	Maxwell Technologies, Tesla Energy,…

The innovation and features in vehicle-producing companies were almost plateaued when Tesla arrived at the scene. Named after Nikola Tesla, within two decades of its existence, the company has successfully placed itself at the top of the food chain.

With high-grade products and immense public trust, Tesla has become a giant in EV car manufacturing, self driving cars, and other related technologies, including autonomous vehicles, renewable energy, and so on.

Still, Tesla Motors has its cocktail of positives and negatives through both internal and external factors. We’ll take a hard look at all of them through a well-researched SWOT Analysis.

Do you need a well-researched SWOT Analysis of Tesla? You have come to the right place! We have a team of researchers that can conduct an accurate and reliable SWOT Analysis of Tesla. So, connect with us today!

SWOT Analysis of Tesla

SWOT Analysis – as the acronym suggests – is about determining the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats a business could have been facing. SWOT Analysis can be conducted at any point in time with no clear goal, but most information can be deducted by asking specific questions first.

In this Apple SWOT Analysis, we will take a hard look at both internal and external factors with a clear focus on the most effective elements.

Tesla’s Internal Factors

Let’s start the SWOT Analysis of Tesla Motors with a study of internal factors that are determining the company’s policies and outlook.

💪 Strengths

Being the most valued automotive industry brand in the world, Tesla enjoys and employs the following strengths in its business.

Best Employer In America

Tesla has been constantly praised in unions and other workers’ circles because of its employees-first policy. With a dedicated workforce and goodwill from media and other outlets, it has been declared the best employer in America in 2021 by Forbes Magazine.

Charismatic Leadership

One of Tesla’s founders and now CEO, Elon Musk, is a well-known personality in the whole world. He is a visionary with many revolutionary ideas and projects in the pipeline. Being the face of Tesla gives the company advantage over other companies.

Top Global Automotive Company

Even though pandemics, Tesla managed to retain its streak of raising the bar for electric cars delivered in a fiscal year. The company is now valued at over $1 trillion, which is more than that of other top 5 car manufacturing brands in the world combined.

In a short period, Tesla has managed to surpass global automotive industry giants, such as Toyota, General Motors, Ford, Daimler, etc.

Leader in EV Manufacturing

Still, in its twenties, Tesla has managed to vow industry giants and the public with its efficient and world-leading range of electric cars and vehicles. When Tesla’s are compared with EVs from other manufacturers in terms of mileage per single charge, the former occupies the top three spots.

Exceptional Production Numbers

In 2020, vehicles delivered to customers by Tesla were 121,701. After one year, the numbers rose by 87% and the number of vehicles delivered by the company was 936,172.

Even with the pandemic on the rise and the disruption of the supply chain, achieving such a feat in electric vehicle sales is a great strength for the brand.

Collaboration with Other Companies

To make the Tesla electric cars experience more comfortable and secure, Tesla has collaborated with other companies, such as Liberty Mutual Insurance. This has allowed Tesla to launch services like InsureMyTesla.

Better Positioning with Innovation

Tesla has a diverse range of vehicles, including semi-trucks and sports cars. This allows the company to position itself in a strategic corner with control over resources and a market share that is way higher than other companies.

Novel Business Strategies

Tesla is not like any other company when it comes to business and marketing strategies. The company believes in and implements unique and novel plans when it comes to employees, operations, and marketing.

🤒 Weaknesses

Even with so many strengths, Tesla has to endure a lot of weaknesses in its system and operations. Here is a look at the most crippling ones.

Complex Manufacturing Processes

The manufacturing of electric vehicles is still a complicated task. Tesla may be the leader in the market, but it has its fair share of complexities in the manufacturing and procurement process.

Shortage of Supply

Tesla electric cars need a high level of acumen and technological prowess to produce and run on the road. With the rise in the price of raw materials and the complexities of production operations, Tesla is always behind its supply targets. This is a weakness that Tesla must overcome to expand its brand’s reach.

Low Capacity & Resources For High Scale Production

Tesla is a pioneer in electric vehicles production but the numbers are still meager when compared to other car manufacturing companies in the US and abroad.

Without proportional expansion in production, there is a risk that the growth of Tesla will be plateaued in the long run.

Inadequate Complimentary Materials

Tesla’s are dependent on batteries to run energy storage systems. Recently, Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla has confessed that the lingering numbers of cars produced were directly related to the shortage of batteries. The dependency on outside vendors has made it difficult for Tesla to keep up with the demand.

One Man Show?

Elon Musk is a busy person. He has many ideas and projects going on and still, he is the sole identity of Tesla. This is a limiting factor for a company as lucrative as Tesla.

Employee Safety & Well-Being Concerns

In the last couple of years, many scandals have emerged about Tesla’s business model, factories, and assembly lines. Some workers filed a lawsuit regarding sexual misconduct and catcalling in the workspace.

Other concerns include a poor safety environment for workers which can lead to mental and physical damage to employees.

Financial Bottlenecks

The current commercial debt that Tesla accrues is around $5 billion. With the struggling cash flow and expensive manufacturing operations, it is hard for the company to cope with this debt.

Tesla’s External Factors

It is time to analyze the external factors that can affect the business model and operations of Tesla for better or for worse.

🤑 Opportunities

The positioning of Tesla as the most well-known EV car brand opens a lot of windows of opportunity for it. Here are the most promising ones.

Expansion in New Regions

Tesla is planning to expand in the new markets. Asian regions, such as India, are expected to open a new Tesla Gigafactory. This will open a new revenue stream for the company with cheap labor and infrastructure.

Development of Affordable Options

Teslas are expensive because of the sophisticated manufacturing and assembling process. Still, Tesla is eyeing the affordable EV segment with Tesla Model 3. It will have fewer features, mileage, and space than its sister version Tesla Model S, but surely it will help the brand in penetrating a diverse audience.

In-House Production of Complementary & Auxiliary Parts

The company is planning to get battery production and other parts manufacturing in-house. This will give a necessary boost to Tesla whose sales numbers often plummet because of reliance on third-party vendors.

New Line of Vehicles

America has always favored pickup trucks for their robustness and reliability. Tesla is planning to release its much-anticipated Cyber Truck. This way, the company will generate traction with a large number of car owners at home.

Stepping in Air Cab Market

Tesla is now the second-largest shareholder in the air-taxi start-up Lilium. The plan is to produce air cabs that can offer better intra-city mobility without choking the urban traffic further.

Selling Cars in Bulk

Tesla has yet to deliver bulk orders due to complicated manufacturing and the time required to assemble all cars. Recently, Hertz, a car rental company, has placed a bulk order of 100,000 Tesla vehicles for its fleet. This is another opportunity for Tesla to shine and up the ante.

😨 Threats

Tesla has its fair share of threats and risks that can hamper the company from working below its full potential.

Here is a rundown of these threats.

Vehicle Liability Claims

Liability claims are big financial setbacks for a company. Although Tesla has state-of-the-art manufacturing and safety protocols, it still finds often in muddy water. The introduction of auto-pilot backfired and resulted in claims and lawsuits.

Stiff Competition

Thanks to Tesla, every other car manufacturing company is trying its muscle in EV production. Names like Toyota, Lexus, BMW, AUDI, and many more have started to ship out alternative fuel vehicles, even some offering at low prices.

Lack of General Adaptation

With all the lofty slogans and considerations for the environment, electric vehicles are still nominal when compared to traditional vehicles, home or abroad. Without general adaptation, Tesla may find itself in trouble for long-term sustainability and growth.

Issues with Self-Driving Tesla’s

Adults, especially seniors above 50, are afraid of self-driving cars. They do not feel comfortable which puts out a band name and reputation for the company so willing to make autonomous cars a norm. That’s why Tesla’s autopilot technology is still struggling.

Supply Chain Issues

The materials used to produce an electric vehicle carry very volatile prices as well as supply chains. Not to mention the dependence on third-party vendors for batteries upsets production numbers. These supply chain issues cause a serious threat to the growth and survival of Tesla as a company.

Safety Concerns

Tesla uses Li-ion batteries to run its cars. It is a very reactive and exothermic material. There have been many instances where the cars caught fire and posed a risk to passengers and others around them.

Tesla’s CEO Controversies

Elon Musk is the face of Tesla. He is eccentric and shows impulsive behavior in public which could lead to a bad reputation for the brand. Many instances from their personal and public life have been documented with dwindled stakeholders’ trust in his abilities.

Tesla SWOT Table

Strengths

💪 Best Employer In America
💪 Charismatic Leadership
💪 Top Global Automotive Company
💪 Leader in EV Manufacturing
💪 Exceptional Production Numbers
💪 Collaboration With Other Companies
💪 Better Positioning with Innovation
💪 Novel Business Strategies

Weaknesses

🤒 Complex Manufacturing Processes
🤒 Shortage of Supply
🤒 Low Capacity & Resources For High Scale Production
🤒 Inadequate Complimentary Materials
🤒 One Man Show
🤒 Employee Safety & Well-Being Concerns
🤒 Financial Bottlenecks

Opportunities

🤑 Expansion In New Regions
🤑 Development of Affordable Options
🤑 In-House Production of Complementary & Auxiliary Parts
🤑 New Line of Vehicles
🤑 Stepping in Air Cab Market
🤑 Selling Cars In Bulk

Threats

😨 Vehicle Liability Claims
😨 Stiff Competition
😨 Lack of General Adaptation
😨 Issues with Self-Driving Teslas
😨 Supply Chain Issues
😨 Safety Concerns
😨 Tesla’s CEO Controversies

Read More: