Introduction to Marketing. Business & Marketing Coursework.

Introduction to Marketing
Student’s Name
Name of the Class
Professor’s Name
City
State
Date
Introduction to Marketing
1 Competitive Advantage at Tesla
Competitive advantage in the current business environment is an edge for any contemporary firm. A firm attains a competitive advantage when it offers superior products or lower costs of its products compared to its rivals and more importantly if it can preserve these elements for the long-term (Wang, Lin, & Chu, 2011, p. 100). When the firm can maintain these competitive advantages over the long-term, it is considered to have a sustainable competitive advantage. Michael Porter established a competitive advantage concept. He asserted for companies that are willing to create a competitive strategy they have two central choices to consider. First, the long-term profitability of the respective industries and the factors that influence this proposition. Secondly, the firm should seek to establish clarity over its relative position in the industry (Porter, 1985, p. 9). The position is highly determined by the firm's profitability in comparison to that of the industry average. Nevertheless, Porter states that a firm can attain two primal types of competitive advantage, which include differentiation or low cost albeit their strengths and weaknesses vis-à-vis its competitors. In analyzing the competitive advantages at Tesla, it is necessary to have a deeper analysis of the strengths and weaknesses that behold the firm relative to the industry.
The hype behind EVs may compel many of the traditional automobile firms to begin their productions. Since they have the finances and personnel, they may find it easy to integrate this proposition into their operations. However, they are unaware of the need for supercharger stations, at least based on the current situation. Tesla understands this proposition to the core. They are well aware that their customers require need ubiquitous fast-charging stations. Between the first quarter of 2018 and the third quarter of 2019, Tesla installed over 7,600 supercharger points to bring their total to about 14,700, which is a commendable number considering their high demand (Forbes, 2020). It is also worth noting that these are the fast-charging points rather than the slow charging spots that are also in the market
Tesla’s Supercharger Network Growth between First Quarter 2018 and Third Quarter 2019 (Forbes, 2020).
Customers are saved the annoyance that comes with the penny-counting pricing approach that is imminent when one is charging their vehicles. Tesla owners are saved this hustle as the charging costs are rolled into the actual price of buying the product. This dimension provides Tesla owners the psychological relief that they will not have to pay for the supercharging for the rest lifetime of the car. Currently, no automobile firm has adopted this method and as time progresses, Tesla is filling its geographic supercharger presence meaning that customers will opt for the firm's vehicles most of the time.
Tesla is a vertically integrated and technology firm similar to the American smartphone giant, Apple. Tesla’s approach to software is top tier relative to any other company in the world. ...