Discussion questions for Case Tesla:

1. What's Tesla's major business and industry? How profitable is this industry in general based on five-force model analysis (you can refer to your answer to Ch2 Assignment#2)? What business-level strategy is Tesla using now? Differentiation, cost-leadership, integrated, focused?

2. Based on the internal analysis of Tesla, what is Tesla's core competency? I.e. those resources and capabilities that Tesla possesses that are valuable, rare, costly to duplicate, and non-substitutable? Compared with its major competitors, what is Tesla's weakness in terms of resources and capabilities?

3. Based on the external analysis of Tesla, what are the major threats to Tesla's current business-level strategy and product? What strategy and strategic adjustments do you recommend to deal with these threats? Are these adjustments consistent with Tesla's core competency?

4. Based on your answer to Q2&Q3, what are the major obstacles for Tesla to make these strategic adjustment (such as resources needed but not possessed by Tesla)? What do you recommend the management to do to solve these problems?

Here are some references you may find useful for update of Tesla. You can use it in your own case report.

1. Tesla's Form10K of 2015

1.1 Item 1 Business overview and Item 1A Risk factor; this is usually the best place to start a SWOT analysis.

1.2 Item 8, balance sheet and income statement;
http://www.teslamotors.com/

2. In 2014, Tesla announced that it will not initiate patent lawsuits against anyone who, in good faith, wants to use its technology.

https://www.teslamotors.com/about/legal#patent-pledge

3. Bloomberg Business report, "Will the Next Tesla Sell for $25,000?"

4. Bloomberg Business report, "The Chevy Bolt"

5. WSJ Feb13, 2015, Apple Gears Up to Challenge Tesla in Electric Cars

http://www.wsj.com/articles/apples-titan-car-project-to-challenge-tesla-1423868072?mod=WSJ_hp_LEFTWhatsNewsCollection%20

The best sources to get updated info of a company (as listed in Lecture Note#5) are:

1. Company website (financial forms) for company level info;

2. Industry wide database, Nasdaq, or Yahoo! Finance for industry info, stock price movement, and competitor info;

3. News websites for updated industry and company info.

Attachment:- Tesla_Form-10k_2015.pdf