Back to the Future with Tesla
Identifying a need is usually the first step to product development. Marketing a need is the most effective approach, in some cases the consumer never knew they even needed the product until it is presented as a method to improve their overall quality of life.
“Sales transactions and consumer marketing is strategic to appeal to emotional natures, most transactions contain little to no logic”
Greenhouse gasses, global warming, decaying planet……. All of these have been the hot topic of the last few decades. The race to alternative and renewable energy is nothing new, there are several countries leading the charge, for instance Brazil has one of the most successful biofuel programs in the world: producing ethanol from sugar cane. Sweden plans to solely on renewable energy by as early as 2040, they have invested heavily in solar, wind, smart grids, and clean transport, and may become the first country to wean themselves off fossil fuels.
Essentially, the global race for alternative energy is heating up. The United States has toyed with the idea of cold fusion, nuclear combustion, and of course the common renewable strategies in the market. One of the United States biggest dependencies on fossil fuel is transportation, at about 90% of total petroleum consumption.
The electric vehicle entered the U.S. around 2011, unfortunately it has been slow to catch on, even though the government has offered everything from tax breaks to rebates to entice Americans to purchase electric vehicles. The primary reluctance came from price points and lack of charging stations. There have been several auto makers to develop technology and vehicles to cater to the fossil fuel dependence in the U.S. One name is synonymous with electric vehicles.
Tesla has dominated the Electric Vehicle (EV) market with innovative technology and a proven track record. The company started as early as 2003 developing prototypes and really touched the market with their luxury car, Model S in 2013. The Model S earned almost a perfect consumer rating of 99 out of 100. The initial start of Tesla began with an idea generation, with engineers working to develop and innovate the technology that Tesla uses in their proprietary systems.
As the ideas flowed Tesla screened them against the market to determine their ROI, some ideas soared while others, not so much. Failure is a point of learning, like the Cybertruck. Tesla took unpopular consumer feedback and used it to develop new products, all the while remaining profitable year after year. In 2020 they rose to the most popular and profitable in terms if growth and shareholder revenue.
Tesla seemed to follow the new product development process step by step. Starting with an idea and leading to screening, evaluation, development, and commercialization. Each of the steps they evaluated their progress and made changes which increased their relevance and revenue streams.
I am excited to see what innovations Tesla comes up with next.
