Introduction
Nowadays, individual transport plays a pivotal role in the lives of many people, enabling them to be highly mobile, which is often necessary for their professional activities. Therefore, creating new ways of transportation may be highly prospective. The current paper proposes a project for building a flying car by Tesla, Inc., a famous USA-based international corporation. The reasons for such a proposal, as well as the details of the project, are discussed.
Chosen Organisation
Tesla, Inc. is a U.S. transnational company that produces electric vehicles, solar panels, and battery products (primarily lithium-ion batteries). Having been founded in 2003 primarily as a manufacturer of electric cars, the organization successfully entered the market and became a luxury brand in electric vehicle production (Stringham, Miller, & Clark, 2015). Nowadays, cars are produced in the company’s factory in Fremont, CA, and transported to a variety of destinations all over the world; also, additional factories are being built in the United States and the Netherlands (“About Tesla,” n.d.).
As for batteries, a “gigafactory” is currently being created; the purpose of this factory is to enable Tesla, Inc. to manufacture a considerable amount of lithium-ion batteries which could be utilized to provide power for electric vehicles (up to 500,000 cars per annum) and other battery-powered devices (N.V., 2014). On the whole, the company is known for its desire to bring innovation while complying with the principles of environmental sustainability.
Project Scope Statement
The project which will be offered in this paper proposes to engage in a process aimed at the creation of a flying car. Therefore, it is clear that the specific objective of this project is to develop a vehicle that could be utilized to serve as a personal transportation device, and would be similar in its functions to a car, but would also be capable of flying at sufficient height (a height that would be enough to fly over buildings in a city at a safe height) and moving with an adequate speed (that is, with a speed which would be comparable with that of non-flying cars) while being airborne.
The proposed goal is measurable (if a personal aerial vehicle is created that can successfully perform the described functions, and would comply with safety requirements similar to those of the non-flying automobiles). It is also attainable and realistic, which can be confirmed by the fact that a large number of researchers have already engaged in projects aimed at designing and creation of such or similar transportation devices (Islam, Liu, & El Saddik, 2014; Kim, Hwang, & Kim, 2013; Sams, Gurunathan, Selvan, & Kumar, 2012).
Also, it should be stressed that military operations and emergency services, in some cases, already utilize flying devices (such as drones) for intelligence, information gathering, incident management, and so on (Abrahamsen, 2015; Byun et al., 2014; Korpela, Danko, & Oh, 2012). The timeliness of such a project is conditioned by the fact that the technological development appears to have reached a level at which the creation of such cars might be possible and feasible (Islam, Liu, & El Saddik, 2015; Saeed, Gratton, & Mares, 2011).
The proposed project might create a considerable competitive advantage for Tesla if the car is created before other developers make it. This would allow Tesla to sell a unique product in the market, for which a high demand would be likely, providing Tesla with a considerable and long-lasting competitive advantage (Narla, 2013; Saeed et al., 2011).
Reasons for Innovative Solution
This solution was chosen for Tesla, Inc. due to its high potential and numerous benefits. For instance, the merits of the flying vehicle for the business include the potentially high attractiveness of such a product to a certain group of consumers, including the consumers of luxury vehicles, who are already the target market for Tesla (N.V., 2014); the uniqueness of this type of product; the considerable degree of convenience and comfort it can provide for the customer; and so on.
Besides, it might be possible to state that there exist a large number of factors that may increase the likelihood of success of the company when it comes to the creation of a flying vehicle. For instance, the success factors of an aerial car include the fact that these may be patented, thus making Tesla the only manufacturer of this type of product and permitting it to gain a long-lasting competitive advantage over its rivals, creating a completely new niche in the market and thus forming the basis for long-term success.
Type of Innovation
The proposed project of developing and creating a flying personal vehicle requires Tesla to engage in activities connected to the implementation of innovation. The invention and construction of such a vehicle would require significant investments in Research and Development; also, it would be necessary for Tesla not only to design the construction of such a vehicle and create the principles on which it would work but also to engage in extensive testing activities to make sure that the innovative product is safe and reliable.
On the whole, it should be noted that the development and creation of the proposed product need the implementation of a radical type of innovation because it requires Tesla to design and develop a completely new product which has never been created before, and might be difficult to realize not just in technology but also in conceptual terms. Nevertheless, success in developing such a product might bring Tesla considerable profits (Saeed et al., 2011).
Strategic Steps
It might be possible to propose to plan the creation of a flying car for 7 years starting from January 2018 and finishing in January 2025; at the point of finish, the company should have in its possession a production facility which will be capable of building a sufficient amount of flying vehicles. The total investment required for this plan would be approximately equal to 4.5 billion USD.
The first stage of the creation of the flying car will require significant investment in Research and Development. The company of Tesla will have to hire several developers and engineers and direct their efforts at the conceptual development of the idea of flying car; the conceptual development will have to be accompanied by a constant technical assessment of the proposed models and ideas, and continuous evaluation of their further viability. This phase will last for an estimated period of 18 months (1.5 years).
The second stage of the creation of the proposed product will involve building and testing the prototypes of the models that were offered by the engineers and identified as the most viable ones. This phase will last for an estimated period of 24 months (2 years), and at its end, Tesla should have a finished and well-tested model of an aerial car that can be put on production.
The third stage will involve the creation of facilities required for the mass-production of the flying vehicle. This stage may be the most costly and lengthy of all. It will last for an estimated period of 42 months (3.5 years), and at its end, Tesla will have a full-fledged facility for creating such cars working at its full capacity. It might be possible that parts of the factory will start producing flying cars earlier, though, but not at full capacity.
Also, it should be pointed out that during stages 2 and 3, Tesla will have to work with legal authorities to develop safety standards for the flying cars. It will also be necessary to create legislation regulating the use of personal aerial vehicles.
SWOT Analysis
The strengths of the proposed projects are that it will allow for the creation of an innovative device that will be unmatched by any other product available in the market, permitting Tesla to gain a long-lasting competitive advantage over its rivals and diversifying the range of the products that the company offers (Saeed et al., 2011).
The weaknesses of this project include its high risk resulting from the need to implement a radical innovation and to create a whole new technology product that is equal to nothing which exists in the world nowadays.
The opportunities of this project include the fact that none of the currently existing car manufacturing companies have created a flying vehicle yet, so Tesla will be a pioneer capable of creating a completely new niche in the market (Saeed et al., 2011).
The threats to this project include the risk that rival companies might start working on a similar project in parallel to Tesla, and might succeed earlier, in which case the Tesla’s product will be deprived of its uniqueness.
Challenges and Risk Mitigation
While implementing the proposed project in life, Tesla might face several challenges about various aspects of the flying car designing and creation. On the whole, it is possible that the proposed models of cars may not be reliable and safe enough, which would prevent the organization from engaging in their production. Also, testing the offered models might prove difficult due to the absence of manufacturing facilities which may be required for their creation.
To mitigate the possible risks, it might be recommended to pay greater attention to the aspects of the safety and reliability of the developed models. It may also be needed to outsource the creation of parts of models to be tested from other companies to utilize their capacities instead of spending additional money on the creation of production facilities for building untested prototypes.
Conclusion
On the whole, it should be stressed that, despite the large effort needed for realizing the project of a flying car, Tesla ought to be able to successfully develop and create such a device. This will allow Tesla to deliver a completely innovative product to the market, creating a completely new niche, diversifying the enterprise’s products, and ensuring a long-term competitive advantage over its rivals.
References
About Tesla. (n.d.).
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