Tesla in Automotive industry Strategy project Essay Example for Free

Tesla in Automotive industry Strategy project Essay 1. Introduction The Encyclopaedia Brittanica defined the automotive industry as all the companies and activities involved in the manufacturing of motor vehicles, including most components, such as bodies and engines; but excluding tires, batteries and fuel1. The automotive industry started with the production of what is widely considered to be the first ever automobile, the Benz Patent-Motorwagen in 1886. Although the first car was originally manufactured in Germany, in the many decades to come, the United States led the world in total automobile production until the start of the 21st century, when China took the top position. Today, China produces nearly 20 million units per year, almost double the amount of the United States. It is one of the world’s most important sectors when measured by revenue and it is a business that is still growing significantly. Last year for example, over 87 million automobiles were produced worldwide, a 3. 6% increase compared to the year before and a 43. 82% increase compared to 20032. Needless to say, the automotive industry is big business and it is very probable there are business opportunities that are yet to be exploited. Tesla Motors is an American car manufacturer that tried to exploit such a business opportunity. It’s an American company that designs and manufactures electric vehicles and electric car components3. Founded in 2003, Tesla’s goal was to lessen the world’s dependence on petroleum-based transportation and drive down the cost of electric vehicles. Moreover, Tesla’s aim is to prove that electric vehicles can be awesome as well4. This might not sound particularly unique, but Tesla Motors does have a very distinct strategy in the sense that it wants to enter the automotive market by first focusing on high-end luxury cars and sports cars. Later, when Tesla’s products and consumers acceptance have matured, they would move into the market for the middle-class consumer, which is larger but also significantly more competitive5. The idea is to establish a strong brand name at first, which will aid the company in a later stage when the decision is made to start producing lower-priced automobiles. Tesla’s first 1 http://global. britannica. com/EBchecked/topic/45050/automotive-industry 2 http://www. oic a. net/category/production-statistics/ 3 http://www. te slamotors. com/ 4 http://www. teslamotors. com/about 5 http://www. greenc arreports. com/news/1022275_msnbc-calls-ev-drivers-lunatic-fringe 3 model, the Roadster, had a base price of approximately $100. 0006. Their second car, Model S, is priced at $63. 750 including a $7. 500 tax credit. The company now has plans to launch a $30,000 small SUV the Tesla Model X 7. Eventually, Tesla wants to become a mass producer of electric vehicles and service both upper- and middle-class customers8 This discussion aims to analyze Tesla’s strategy. It is clear that Tesla has a very differentiated strategy and we will want to determine whether or not Tesla is likely to succeed in achieving its goals and become a successful enterprise. Firstly, we will take closer look at the ‘environmental’ automotive industry using Porter’s theory. Secondly, we need to closely look at Tesla’s strategy. How will Tesla try to win a respectable share of the market? As mentioned before, Tesla is a very young company and it will inevitably face fierce competition from incumbent firms. A clear plan to establish a foothold in such a market will be essential for the firm’s survival. The next step is to see if Tesla identified all relevant factors and industry forces, and if it has defined a strategy that takes all of these elements into account. It will surely need to attain a unique strategy if it wants to position itself in a key position in the market. What is it exactly that differentiates Tesla from other car manufacturers and in what way could this be beneficial for the firm? Does their strategy have a high chance of success? How can Tesla create a network of electric chargers? Before evaluating Tesla’s strategy, we must first clearly take a closer look at the company Tesla Motors itself and define the market in which the company is active. Even though they are currently operating in a smaller niche market (mid to high-end luxury cars), the plan is to eventually address the middle-class consumer and enter the ‘standard’ automobile market. This will inevitably complicate our discussion but it is essential for determining the chance of success. The paper includes a discussion on the high entry barriers that are typically associated in the automotive industry and the possible presence of strategic entry barriers raised by incumbent firms to reduce the likelihood of new entrants. We will also mention any other strategies adopted by firms in the automotive industry who want to improve their competitive position. Furthermore, the extent to which the industry is concentrated will be discussed, as well as the possible presence of strategic complements and substitutes. Moreover, Tesla will also need to take the non-market environment into consideration. Typical for the automotive sector is that it is an industry with very strict safety regulations. Tesla of course will also 6 http://jalopnik. com/5135290/tesla-increases-prices-on-already-ordered-roadsters 7 http://onpoint. wbur. org/2009/09/25/teslas-elon-musk-on-a-sub-30000-electric-car 8 http://www. marketwatch. com/ story/strategic-corporate-profile-of-tesla-motors-global-operations-2014-01-13 4 have to face the challenge of producing vehicles that respect these requirements. On top of that, the relatively recent discovery of global warming, partially caused by car emission (CO2), has led to the implementation of a series of emission standards that aim to reduce the greenhouse gasses emitted by petroleum-powered vehicles. This may not seem relevant for Tesla Motors at first since its goal is to produce electric vehicles. These regulations are however accompanied with a credit system, which means that car manufacturers that do not meet the standard are penalized and have to buy credits from other manufacturers that have a surplus of credits9. Since Tesla Motors only produces emissions-free vehicles, it has a major surplus of credits which it can sell to other car manufacturers. General Motors for example has to buy additional credits from Tesla in order to respect the regulation. This implies large transfers of wealth across car manufacturers. As a result, companies selling cars with a (too) high emission must raise prices to pay for the credits. On the other hand, the beneficiaries of these wealth transfers such as Tesla can now use the extra revenue to lower prices and take on a more competitive position in the market. All of this will of course be discussed more thoroughly in our discussion below. The paper concludes with a summary of the discussion and our prognosis regarding the future success of Tesla Motors in the automotive industry. 2. Market definition This paper only looks at models available in the US because it’s the largest electric car market, the EU is the second largest market but is much more complex because EU-countries have different legislation for electric cars. Some countries have large subsidies for electric cars and thus large market shares such as Norway, on the other hand some countries have almost no market share. The Model S is the only available model at the moment targeting the middle to high-end luxury car market. This model costs between 63. 750$(base model, 7500$ tax credit) and 125. 220 $(full option, 7500$ tax credit). 10 Because the model S is all electric, we can compare the car to slighter cheaper models because of lower long term ownership cost thanks to lower cost for electricity compared to fuel. The base model is a full-size 5 adult seat sedan powered by a fully electric 60 kW-h motor achieving 302hp. Top speed is relatively low at around 200km/h but acceleration is very good at 5. 9 seconds to 100 km/h, this is typical for an electric engine. More expensive models offer better range and performance and a warranty with unlimited kilometers on the battery for 8 years compared to 200. 000km for 8 years on the base model. 9 http://mitsloanexperts. mit. edu/californias-auto-emissions-policy-hits-a-tesla-pothole/ 10 Teslamotors. com 5 We will consider the mid to high-end luxury market containing one electric the Tesla, a couple of hybrids and a lot of traditional cars. Mid-end starts at prices of approximately 50. 000 $ with cars such as the BMW 5-serie, Audi A6 and Mercedes E-class. 11 High end stops at prices above 130. 000$. For the following analyses we will sometimes look at broader markets containing cheaper alternatives because even though these cars aren’t substitutes they are still relevant. Research show that tesla owners were most likely to previously own a Toyota prius hybrid or secondly luxury BMW and Mercedes. 12 3. Industry attractiveness and profitability In this section the overall attractiveness of the ‘environmental’ automotive industry is assessed using Porter’s influential five forces model. The term environmental indicates those vehicles that do not solely rely on the combustion of fossil fuels to power their engine. Examples are electric vehicles, hybrid vehicles or plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs). Both the pure electric automotive industry as well as the overarching environmental automotive industry is presented, as these cannot always be seen separately. In his model, Michael Porter identifies five key competitive forces that determine the structure and profitability of a certain industry. The five forces are the bargaining power of suppliers, the bargaining power of buyers, the threat of substitutes, the threat of entry and the rivalry among existing competitors. Porter’s model enables managers, in an easy and straightforward way, to understand their industry environment and to shape their firm’s strategy accordingly. As a rule of thumb, the stronger the five forces, the lower the industry’s profit potential and hence the industry’s attractiveness to competitors. The most influential forces that have shaped and continue to shape the environmental automotive industry are discussed in the following paragraphs. A first restraint on the overall profitability of a firm is the bargaining power of its suppliers. For the environmental automotive industry the bargaining power varies among the suppliers of different components. An important component in the construction of hybrid and electric vehicles is the battery. The bargaining power of the battery companies is low as there are a lot of manufacturers present on the market. Tesla Motors, for instance, buys Li-ion cells from different manufacturers. Consequently, in the case any problems occur with a particular battery supplier, Tesla can easily switch or threaten to switch to other suppliers at low costs. Among others, Tesla works together with Daimler AG and Panasonic to develop battery packs and chargers (Boyke, Cheng, Clevers, Schroeder, Strupp, 2010). Another important component of any vehicle is the chassis. For the construction of the chassis 11 http://buyersguide. caranddriver. com 12 h%p://www. wired. com/2014/03/tesla-model-s-toyota-prius/ 6 specialized engineering skills are required. These skills can often be obtained through strategic partnerships with other car manufacturing companies. In the case of such strategic interdependence the bargaining power of the suppliers is higher than in the ‘take-it-or-leave-it’ battery case. In the past Tesla had an exclusive partnership with Lotus for the physical construction of the Roadster13. As of recently Tesla and Toyota Motor Corporation also agreed to cooperate on the development of electric vehicles, parts, the production system and engineering support14. In conclusion, however, the overall bargaining power of suppliers in the automotive industry is low. The supplier firms must contend with substitute products for sale to the industry. Tesla has more than 150 suppliers around the world, which provide over 2000 parts to Tesla. For the production of the Model S, Tesla uses a highly integrated manufacturing approach, even negotiating with suppliers to manufacture products on site to use the excess capacity. In this way, the integrated approach enables Tesla to alleviate its dependence on supplier performance (Boyke, Cheng, Clevers, Schroeder, Strupp, 2010). A second force that determines the profitability in an industry is the bargaining power of buyers. The bargaining power of buyers concerns the pressure buyers can put on the margins of producers by demanding a lower price or a higher product quality. In the environmental automotive industry the bargaining power of buyers is rather low. For Tesla in particular this is even more so. For starters, Tesla does not sell products in bulk. This means that for the consumers that purchase the finished products no real scale effects are present. Moreover, Tesla has a quite unique position on the market. Tesla is the only manufacturer on the US market that produces high-end, full electric cars that can drive autonomously for over 400 km. By employing a highly skilled, technocratic labour force and management team, Tesla has branded itself as a cutting-edge, innovative firm. They manufacture high quality electric vehicles that are very performing while being environmental-friendly and fun at the same time. The buyers of the Model S also have the possibility to entirely customize the vehicle to their taste. This creates a sense of exclusivity among the clients. Besides the B2C applications Tesla has also established a strong position in the B2B environment 15. Tesla for example licenses its patented processes and technologies to other companies. Especially in the area of battery technology 13 http://www. teslamotors. com/blog/lotus-position 14 http://www.teslamotors. com/about/press/releases/tesla-motors-and-toyota-motor-corporation- intend-work-jointly-ev-development-tm 15 http://www. slideshare. net/joseangeldf/darden-school-of-business-tesla-strategic-analysis 7 and the construction of ‘supercharging’ stations Tesla has a lot of expertise16. The proper licensing of these assets will benefit the entire environmental automotive industry as a whole. An especially important force in the electric automotive industry is the threat of substitutes from outside the given industry. Hybrid vehicles and more specifically PHEV provide a similar functionality as the full electric vehicles. Those manufacturers within these strongly related industries, which produce vehicles and services with an attractive price and performance, pose a serious threat to the established electric car manufacturers. For the Model S the most important substitutes are those mid to high-end hybrids. These vehicles offer low emissions and a good fuel economy at a similar price as the Model S. The most successful alternatives within the US automotive industry are discussed in the next chapter. In the specific price range of the Model S the threat of substitutes is still limited as Tesla is gradually positioning itself as a high-value, exclusive and environmental brand with a growing number of enthusiasts17. Nonetheless, a possible future expansion into the mid-end and low- end market segment will significantly increase the threat of substitutes. There are, however, some complementing factors that might reduce the threat of substitutes both for Tesla as well as the electric automotive industry in a whole. The scope for future development in battery technology, the presence of several tax and parking incentives for electric vehicles and the expected rise in oil prices in comparison to electricity prices might spur the attractiveness of the electric automotive industry. These market dynamics both play on the level of customers as well as producers. One possible negative factor in the realisation of potential sales is the low availability of charging and home charging facilities. However, Tesla Motors is addressing this issue by investing heavily in strategically located charging facilities and by expanding the power and endurance of the battery pack 18. Tesla’ s battery pack technology is critical to the company’ s positioning and competitive differentiation. The low cost of the battery pack allows Tesla to not only design cars with battery ranges greater than the competition but also place equal emphasis on design, performance, and energy efficiency. On the short term, the threat of new entrants in the electric US market is rather limited because of several entry barriers. The industry is characterised by high capital requirements and high sunk costs. 16 http://www. sl ate. com/articles/technolog y/technolog y/2013/05/tesla_model_s_the_electric_car_compa ny_is_a_little_bit_apple_a_little_bit. html 17 http://www. wikiwealth. com/five-forces:tesla-motors, http://www. teslamotors.com/blog-and-press- releases. 18 http://www. slideshare. net/joseangeldf/darden-school-of-business-tesla-strategic-analysis, http://www. reuters. com/article/2014/02/26/us-tesla-battery-panasonic-idUSBREA1O1MF20140226, http://www. t eslamotors. com/supercharger 8 Moreover, advanced, often patented, technologies and processes as well as a highly skilled workforce are required to successfully manufacture an electric car. The success of a firm in the industry is also largely determined by its brand image and the realisation of economies of scale19. Therefore, it is not easy for a potential new entrant to establish a foothold. This is even enhanced by the fact that the incumbent firms have a large and flexible production capacity that can be used as a retaliation device in case of entry (Boyke, Cheng, Clevers, Schroeder, Strupp, 2010). However, established vehicle manufacturers with deep pockets that have currently missed the ‘environmental train’ or disruptive innovators like Tesla Motors might overcome these entry barriers in the long run. The current competition in the US environmental automotive industry is moderate. Only a few major brands are competing. Because of the high entry barriers and the threat of substitutes not a lot of brands risk burning cash in an innovative and insecure business. However, as the sector matures and more people consider switching to an electric car this will change. In a recent report of the Electric Vehicles Initiative (EVI) a global goal of 20 million electric passenger cars, including plug-in hybrid vehicles, battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and fuel cell electric vehicles, in stock by 2020 is set forward. This is still a long way to go as the total worldwide electric vehicle stock at the end of 2012 only amounted to a large 180. 000 units. In 2012, 38. 585 PHEVs and 14. 592 BEVs were sold in the US. The cumulative stock in the US in 2012 was 71. 174 units (Clean Energy Ministerial, Electric Vehicles Initiative, International Energy Agency, 2013). In 2013 roughly 96. 000 electric vehicles were sold in the US environmental automotive industry(including hybrids)20. The three top selling brands are the Chevrolet Volt, the Nissan Leaf and the Tesla Model S. It is clear that the popularity of electric vehicles has significantly increased over the last few years. It is expected that this trend will only continue in the future as the number of models on the market increases. The share of electric cars is still only about 3,5% of the total number of cars that are sold annually in the US market21. Hence, the growth potential of the environmental automotive industry is huge, this both on a domestic as well as an international level. In conclusion of this section an assessment is made of the overall profitability of the environmental automotive industry. As previously argued, the bargaining power of suppliers and buyers is rather limited in the industry. Therefore, the vehicle manufacturers can attract more profits than their up- and downstream partners. The industry is also characterised by several entry barriers, especially on the 19 http://www. wikiwealth. com/five-forces:tesla-motors 20 http://www. greencarreports. com/news/1089443_plug-in-electric-car-sales-for-2013-almost-double- last-years 21 http://electricdrive. org/index. php? ht=d/sp/i/20952/pid/20952 9 short term. The effective prevention of possible entrants reduces the pressure on prices and allows incumbent firms to attract a significant share of the profits. The threat of substitutes is one of the most important restrictors on the profitability within the industry. Because of the similarity in functions between electric brands and hybrid brands it is important for the incumbent firms to create a positive consumer image towards their products. The growth potential of EVs is the most important driver of future profitability of the industry. Until now incumbent firms have undertaken a lot of RD initiatives in the area of battery and charging technologies. The sales numbers in the US market show that these investments are finally starting to pay-off. In the long run, with a growing global popularity of EVs, it is to be expected that also other companies will consider entering the environmental automotive industry. 4. Tesla in the market Tesla differentiates itself by producing environmental responsible cars that have all the benefits of a luxury vehicle. By equally emphasizing on speed, handling, design, comfort, and zero-emissions, Tesla creates a unique balance between performance, efficiency and aesthetics. Through the offering of this first fully electric luxury sedan car, Tesla attained a first mover advantage. Together with its ‘Silicon Valley’ culture, an approach that is innovative, competitive, and effective, Tesla achieved a solid brand name in the automotive market. (Mangram, 2012) Tesla’s battery technology is also critical to the company’s competitive advantage. With its cutting-edge battery technology, combined with essential technology research, Tesla is able to design and produce electric cars with a far greater range than its competitors. Its lithium-ion based battery, for instance, is 250 kilograms lighter compared and has a range of up to 500 kilometers. Bron ? vergeleken met wat ? But even with a supercharger a full charge is approximately one hour. Moreover the company produces many of its key parts in-house, thus making it harder for competitors to replicate. With the expansion of its own retail shops and the establishment of a network of free recharging points for its customers, Tesla keeps challenging the traditional car companies (The Economist, 2013). Tesla’s main strategy can be seen as a reflection of the innovative marketing approach Apple used for its ingenious technology. It holds that any new technology is often very expensive and wealthy customers are regularly the first to accept it. Consequently, Tesla produced its first vehicle, the Roadster, for the premium sports car consumer segment. Nowadays, with the production of the Model S Sedan, the middle to upper- middle class consumers are being targeted. Finally, by 2015 Tesla plans to produce and market an electric car available at a mass-market consumer price range (Tesla Motors, 10 2014). Although this ‘Apple Computer’s business model’ is considered to be rather exceptional in the automobile industry it helped the company to position itself as groundbreaking, self-determining, and cool. Tesla BMW Daimler AG General Motors Toyota Revenue 2 billion 60 billion 117 billion 155 billion 22 trillion Net Income -74 000 2 billion 6,4 billion 5,35 billion 962 billion Sales Growth 387% 7,2 % 3,22 % 2,08 % 18,73 % The luxury car market is highly competitive, with several incumbent companies with loyal customers. Tesla’s main competitors in the luxury car segment are BMW, General Motors, Toyota and Mercedes. While the number of any competitive electric car is still low, an increase can be expected. General Motor’s Chevrolet Volt is one of the main competing vehicles in the market. It covers a wide target market and comes at a notable lower price than Tesla’s Model S. Toyota remains the global leader when it comes to selling hybrids. Although Toyota has 4 electric cars (the Prius, the RAV4 EV, the FCHV fuel cell car, and the Scio IQ-EV), it strategically collaborates with Tesla to improve the electric car development. This alliance has been one of the main factors of Tesla’s growth as Tesla consumers can get customer service in Toyota sites (Toyota Motor Corporation, 2014). The chart compares Tesla’s main competitors on the basis of revenue, net income and sales growth. As we can see, its sales growth is overwhelming. Given that is a rather new company, it indicates its rapid expansion on the electric car market. However, Tesla’s net income remains negative. Nonetheless, the company’s share is currently being traded at 20 times its earning, and as the company continues to grow these numbers are expected to rise. According to an article by Wall Street, 43 new hybrid, electric, and fuel-cell vehicles will be produced in the US market by 2015. Moreover, the market share of alternative fuel cars will increase from 3% in 2012 to almost 5% in 2014 (Wall Street, 2013). New electric vehicle entrants and existing plug-in hybrids manufactures will continue to compete with Tesla in the near future. While the traditional car manufactures are firmly entrenched, Tesla’s competitive advantages could develop to the securing of a significant market share in the electric car market. 5. Sustainability of the competitive advantage. This chapter analyses the degree of sustainability of Tesla’s competitive advantage. First the relevant trends and developments in the automotive industry are briefly reviewed. Furthermore, the 11 predominant isolating mechanisms in force given the market position of Tesla are discussed. We argue Tesla is a textbook example of a disruptive technology. To conclude, strategy recommendations hereupon are formulated. The primordial focus of our analysis shifts in this chapter from the luxury car market to the overarching automotive industry. The rational hereof is clear-cut. On the one hand, the trend analysis for the automotive industry applies to and sufficiently covers the luxury car segment. On the other hand, Tesla continuously voices the strategy to level down through the segments. Furthermore, the majority of car manufacturers produce for multiple segments of the industry. The sustainability of Tesla’s competitive advantage thus strongly depends on the industry rather than the Model S market segment. 1. 1 Trends in the automotive industry The automotive industry is, may be argued, rather conservative. The market structure is little dynamic, without change in market leading firms for long. Furthermore, the industry evolved the past century merely through optimising the traditional ‘automobile’, with limited major breakthroughs. To illustrate, though fuel efficiency and exhaust of the combustion engine has greatly improved, working principles remain unchanged. The emergence of (electrical) alternatives that are sold commercially is only a recent phenomenon. We review three developments that will impact the automotive industry. First, the society-wide surge of environmentalism a fortiori impacts the automotive industry. A thickening body of government actions forces car manufacturers to produce cleaner cars. This both directly, through legislation (e.g. CO2 output limits for new cars), or indirectly by altering consumer behaviour through excises or tax incentives. Furthermore, consumers are increasingly environmentally conscious. Bottom-line, car sales undeniably grow more eco-friendly. Furthermore, the panoply of driver assisting technology that brakes automatically for obstacles or parks the car will be further developed. Self-driving cars may be short-term everyday reality, with Google pulling the cart. Lastly, Gen Y is argued to focus on services rather than ownership. The emergence and success of car sharing by Zipcar or Cambio illustrates this shift in mentality for the automotive industry. 1. 2 The isolating mechanisms The electric car is strongly based on the century old inventions of Serbian engineer Nikola Tesla. We nevertheless argue that the electric car is a text book disruptive technology. This technology, spearheaded by Tesla, will herewith potentially overturn the automotive industry, challenging the 12 incumbents. The early-mover advantage in this creative destruction may enable Tesla to sustain its competitive advantage. The disruptive technology concept is extensively reviewed in the of literature. We apply the framework to the Tesla case. First, the environmental movement and increasing fuel prices created momentum for alternatives of the traditional combustion engine. Both incumbent car manufacturers and many start-ups invested in research. The hydrogen car made the press as a promising technology, but proved little feasible. Eventually the electric car showed market-viable. Many innovators inter alia Fisker, failed. However, as statistics dictate tech start-up Tesla got ahead in the race at the expense of dominant car manufacturers. The 2400 Tesla Roadsters produced, sales manifestly unattractive   toincumbents, were a great success and learning opportunity for the start-up. The Tesla Model S unprecedented battery range no longer forces consumers to trade off fuel efficiency for convenience. Herewith it can shift from niche product for wealthy eco-hipsters to head on competition for the traditional luxury sedan. The Model S proves superior to its competition threefold. First, the position of the battery pack lowers the gravity centre of the car for superior handling (and creates a spacious trunk in the back and front). The electric engine also delivers instant torque, further allowing sporty driving. Furthermore, the Model S was granted a record safety score of 5,4 out of 5. Lastly, electric engines are maintenance free. Note that the electric car still offers greater potential for technological progress than the more tried and tested combustion engine. The incumbent firms are wary of this potential shift to electric for the automotive industry, note the growing number of electric cars offered. However, extensively studied, the difference in investment dynamics with nimble start-ups impedes them to appropriately and successfully commit to the disruptive technology. The sunk cost and replacement effect are strong in this case. Therefore, it is Tesla that has a head start, with Daimler and Toyota asking the new kid on the block for help. The early-mover advantage of Tesla will sustain its competitive advantage threefold. First, we consider the economies of the learning curve. The first car manufacturer to fully grasp the paradigm shift Tesla benefits hereby manifold. The design-from-scratch approach is inevitable to exploit the electric car technology to the full. The Model S is a thus a step ahead of the build-on competitors, quickly adding to Tesla’s experience with every unit sold. Furthermore, the superior battery packs are en route to continue to offer greater range and faster charging at a lower unit cost. Note that Tesla supplies its electric powertrain to Toyota and Daimler, further adding to its cumulative experience. Moreover, the strong experience gained is further protected from imitation through multiple patents. The literature further arguments the reputation for quality to be an important source of early-mover advantage for experience goods. Thus, the brand image of an electric car brand may be considered important, notwithstanding the ubiquitous possibilities for test drives. Tesla has a rock solid reputation 13 for quality, though much like Apple it has irrational haters22. To illustrate, the Tesla recall threat due to 3 car fires was resolved by an overnight software update that would slightly raise the Model S when driving on the highway. The Tesla stock price had a field day23. Furthermore, the Model S production cannot keep up with sales. Herewith, Tesla doesn’t spend a dollar on marketing. Thirdly, Tesla benefits from network effects to sustain its competitive advantage. Tesla heavily invests in the supercharger network, that quickly expanding adds to the convenience of driving an electric car station by station. For competitors it is meanwhile.

Comparing Judaism and Islam Essay Example for Free

Comparing Judaism and Islam Essay Judaism and Islam are two of the worlds oldest, and largest monotheistic religions. These religions share a variety of customs, beliefs, and even practices. But at the same time, there are enough differences to make the two religions and cultures oppose each other greatly. Even some similarities between the two have been the source of conflict for thousands of years. Both the Jewish and Muslim faith believe in one God. Being monotheistic means just that, the belief in one God. This is the most obvious similarity between the two religions. In fact a Muslim is defined as anyone who says There is no God but God, and Mohammed is the messenger of God. and the basic creed of Judaism says Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one. Judaism and Islam both have Holy Books from which religious teachings are taken. The Muslim Holy Book is called the Quran, it is spelled in English in many different ways Koran, Kuran, this is because Arabic is hard to translate. The Quran is the word of God as reveled by the prophet Mohammed. The Jewish Holy Book is referred to as the Hebrew Bible. The first five books of the Hebrew Bible is called the Torah. This is the part of the bible lays out a system of moral and religious conduct. The Hebrew Bible was put together in the 1st century A.D. by rabbis and teachers of the Jewish text. The Hebrew Bible and the Quran both set up a system of law for the followers of the Jewish and Muslim faiths. The Hebrew Bible, the book of the Jewish faith sets up more of a code of conduct, a system of moral and religious conduct that is called the halavhah. This addresses how families should be run, personal ethics and manners, social responsibilities, and what people of the Jewish faith should and should not eat. Dietary guidelines are very important in the Jewish religion, everything that is eaten must be Kosher, meaning it is prepared a certain way. The Quran goes one step farther in setting boundaries for its believers. This book of the Muslim faith sets the rules for an Islamic state. Also there are strict rules on women, families, and daily life that are addressed in deep detail in the Quran. Polygamy is accepted in the Quran, a man may have no more that four wives. And women are actually supposed to be mostly equal to men, yet modest.  Equality of women is not always practiced in some Middle Eastern and Islamic countries. As with most religions Islam and Judaism have a variety of holidays. Some are to commemorate an event of the the past, some to celebrate a new year, or maybe the passing of a certain number of years. Ramadan, a holiday celebrated mostly by Sunni Muslims, happens during the ninth month of the Muslim year. This was the month when the Quran was reveled for the guidance of mankind. During this holy month Muslims fast and abstain from sex during the daylight hours. It is a very holy time and is taken very seriously. In the Jewish faith there is a similar holiday called Passover. This holiday lasts for seven days and commerates the deliverance of Israel from slavery. Passover more specifically refers to the evening when the angel of death passed over the houses of all in Egypt killing the first born of each home that did not have lambss blood around the door. During this holiday Jews are permitted only to ear unleavened bread called matzo during the daylight hours, much like the Ramadan fasting. Jews also hold feasts during the first two nights of this holiday. A house of worship is an important component of most religions in our world today. Islam has the Mosque, a place of prayer and teaching. Judaism has the Synagogue, also a place of prayer and teaching. In both these places people gather to perform the customs that are laid out in their religious scriptures. Unlike some religions in the world today both Judaism and Islam require their believers to pray multiple times a day. Jews pray three times a day, once in the morning, once in the noontime and once in the evening. Though this practice is more of a personal choice than the strict guidelines of prayer set in the Muslim religion. In the Quran there are five pillars of the Muslim faith: The first is profession of faith which basically means a Muslims must constantly and openly profess their faith. The second is prayer, which happens five times a day. The third is giving alms to the needy. The fourth is fasting during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. And the fifth is the pilgrimage to Mecca. The second pillar of faith is the  practice similar to the Jewish practice. Five times a day Muslims must pray facing the holy city of Mecca. This however is a very strict prayer, maybe a bit different from the Jewish tradition, but still the same basic concept. Judaism is the oldest of the three major monotheistic religions. The religion began in the time of Abraham which would have been about 1900 B.C, over 3,000 years ago. In many ways this has made the Jewish religion and its followers very strong in their beliefs. Islam, on the other hand, was not founded until 570 A.D., some 2,000 years after the beginning of Judaism. Many Jewish believers will use this difference as an argument. They are the older of the two religions, and so they were the first people in the Holy Land (Israel/Palestine) and so they should be entitled to it and no one else. However, Abraham had two sons, Issac the leader of the Hebrew people and Ishmael, the leader of the Arab people. Though not all Muslims are Arab, the majority of the Muslims in Israel are Arab. So Muslims will use this argument by saying that Ishmael was the first son of Abraham and God told Abraham that He would take care of his first born, so the Muslims have just as much right to the area as the Jews, no matter who was there first. Though there are many similarities between Islam and Judaism, the few differences however large or small seem to greatly outweigh the amazing likenesses for the thousands of followers of both beliefs. These differences as well as the continuing argument over the promised land of Israel/Palestine continue today to escalate the war in the sacred area and drive a wedge even further between the two groups. The truly frightening part of all this is that Holy Wars are extremely hard to resolve. When two groups are fighting over land that was promised to them by a divine entity thats existence cant even be proven, there arent a whole lot of options for peace. All the world can do is educate themselves and try to accept the different religions and continue to look for some sort of compromise.

Samuel Clarkes Cosmological Argument

Samuel Clarkes Cosmological Argument In this essay I will show that while Clarke makes a strong claim that our experience establishes the existence of chains of dependent beings, and that the chain must be (a) caused by an aprioi cause or be an aspect of an infinite continuation of contingent beings which begins with a necessary/independent being; the argument does not justify the possibility of an independent, contingent deity that caused the universe. This conclusion will be supported by a string of critiques and a discussion of the arguments objections. The Argument Philosopher Samuel Clarke put forth a modern formulation of the cosmological argument taking a slightly different path than Aquinass famous cosmological argument. But like Aquinas, Clarke adopts the premise that all beings that we encounter must have causes. Contrary to Aquinas, Clarke differentiates between contingent and necessary beings. The contrast he draws is such that if a being owes its existence to a cause then it is dependent; otherwise it is independent. Our experience shows us that there are chains of dependent beings, but, as Clarke points out, they must either (1) be caused by a necessary being or (2) be an aspect of an infinite continuation of contingent beings which, as Clarke explains, either begins with a necessary/independent being or is part of an infinite series which exhausts the possible logical origins for any continuation of beings. According to the above argument, if all continuations of contingent beings must be infinite or start with a necessary being, then Clarke, simply, is able to falsify infinte continuations and hence demonstrate the existence of an independant being. He calls the concept of infinite continuations absurd, as he follows another route to argue for a necessary being. Clarke points out that the series, as a whole, of dependent beings requires an explanation. Since every individual entity of the series is contingent, the entire series taken as a single entity is contingent. Suppose, Clarke further explains, we take the set of dependent beings as part of a long series where each entity is depends on some previous entity for existence. Then the whole series contingent. But the series cannot be contingent on something outside the set of contingent beings. Thus, Clarke argues, there must exist an independant being to cause the series. Criticisms and Objections The existence of an entity can be explained in three ways: (1) It may be explained by another being, (2) it might be explained by itself, or (3) it may be explained by nothing. Now, the first two cases are accounted for in Clarkes argument. Part (1) is a dependent being. Part (2) is an independent being. But part (3) is not accounted for in Clarkes argument. This point is not sufficent to prove the soundness of the argument. Because it is possible that every existent entity depends on another in an infinte continuation of contingent beings. If this is true, every member of the series is accounted for and to explain the existence of the series, we must suppose an independent being. This leads to the conclusion that Clarkes argument is only as good as his premise every being requires a cause. Whether we accept that premise or not is a controversial topic. One could say that the premise is doubtful and not obvious at all. Also, one may argue that the premise is just an assumption that people make, this cannot be taken as a truth. This leads to the premise being questionable and then, by extension, so is the argument. If, according to Clarke, there is cause for every existence, then one could object that what is the cause of the independent, contingent deity? Another objection to the argument could be that, necessary existence has no meaning. If there were a necessarily existent being, it could be possible that the universe itself is that necessarily existent, independent, being, removing any need for a contingent deity as cause of the universe. Why is it not possible that the universe exists and always will from an infinite series of expansions, such as the big bang, and contractions? Even if we suppose that there is an independent, contingent, being, the cosmological argument is lacking of all properties that humans attribute to the first cause of any religion. Clarkes argument would be stronger if he ascribed the characteristics of our portrayal of God (all-good, all-knowing, all-powerful, etc) to his independent being. Also, an infinite chain of objects, each caused by the prior object, does not require any explanation; the chain is explained by the conjoined explanation of its parts. Say we observe a continual stream of vehicles on a street and we are capable of explaining why each vehicle in the stream was there. The first vehicle bound towards work; the second vehicles destination is the mall, and so forth. It does not make sense to ask why there is a stream of vehicles on the street at all. Explaining each individual part of the stream suffices to explain the whole stream.2 Conclusion In sum, Clarkes modern formulation of the cosmological argument proves to be as strong as his principal premise all beings must have causes; and the acceptance of such a premise is arguable. The argument fails to stand up against the stream of objections and criticisms. Clarke does not sufficiently justify his claim that a collection of dependent beings is itself independent in his argument. William Rowe tried to strengthen and clarify Clarkes account by explaining the role of principal of sufficient reason in the argument, but concludes that the cosmological argument is only as strong as the principal of sufficient reason. Thus, the status of the argument remains uncertain.

The Essence of Time in Marvells To His Coy Mistress :: His Coy Mistress Essays

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The male species has a very creative mind.   The creative mind becomes particularly active when the case involves the female species.   In Andrew Marvell's   "To His Coy Mistress,"   the author shows how his creative mind is put to use.   Marvell, uses time in an   attempt to manipulate his coy mistress.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Time is depicted in three different manners.   First, Marvell uses "ideal time."   In ideal time, he tells how many years he would spend loving her if they were given the opportunity.   He explains to his mistress that if time allowed, he would spend hundreds of years just to   admire her physical being.   Next, he implicates   "real time,"   to persuade her to become accessible to him.   In real time, Marvell gives examples of her aging and how she will go to the grave with her pride if she doesn't give in.   Finally, the use of   "optimum time" plays on her emotions of how sweet the opportunity to make love to her would be.   Marvell tells his mistress that the act would   be almost animalistic and intense.   Throughout the poem, he   uses the phases of time in an attempt to frighten her into having sex with him.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   All three stanza's in the poem   represent a different   time frame. The first   gives his mistress a feeling of   unconditional love.   He leads her to believe he would give all he has to her as   long as time will permit. During the second stanza, Marvell plays on her fear of getting old.   He warns   her that her beauty isn't everlasting and that   she will end up unhappy alone if she doesn't give in.   Marvell's use of optimum time,   the best time, show's his emotions.   He appears to become aggravated.   This seems to be his ace in the hole.   In my opinion, he uses what he believes to be the dearest thing to her, the situation of right here, right now.

The Chicano and The Black Power Movements Essay -- Chicano, Black Powe

The 1960’s comprised of many different movements that sought the same goal of achieving equality, equality in means of: political, economical, and social equality. Two similar movements emerged during this era that shared the same ideologies: the Chicano and the Black Power Movement. Both shared a similar ideology that outlined their movement, which was the call for self-determination. The similar experiences that they had undergone such as the maltreatment and the abuse of power that enacted was enacted by the dominant Anglo race helped to shape these ideologies. Despite their similar ideology, they differed in how they achieved this goal, by either obtaining political participation or going to the extreme as using force to achieve their goals and moving to literally governing their own selves. Although the Chicano and Black Power Movement sought for self-determination, they differed in the tactics they used to obtain this goal. The Chicano and Black Power movement’s call for self-determination emerged due to the broken promises made to them by the American Government. After the Mexican-American War, the Treaty of Guadalupe was supposed to provide Mexican Americans with protection of their land and certain rights such as education, citizenship and the freedom to practice religion. The government never owned up to these promises. Instead Mexican-Americans were forced to assimilate into the American culture, their land stripped away from them, and they were not recognized as citizens. Promises made to the African-American community by the American government were also left unrecognized. Prior to the era of civil rights movement African-Americans had already been struggling under the white power dating back to the years of ... ... Vol 27, No.4. Gulford Press, (1963): 415-432, http//www.jstor.org/stable/40400980 Grandjeat, Charles Yves. â€Å" Nationalism, History and Myth: The Masks of Aztlan,† Confluencia, Vol6, No. 1 (Fall 1990):19-32. http://www.jstor.org/stable/27921957 McCutcheon, Priscilla. â€Å"Returning Home to Our Rightful Place: The Nation of Islam and Muhammad Farms,† Elsevier (2013): 61-70 doi: 10.1016/j.geoforum.2013.05.001 Moraga, Cherrie. â€Å"Queer Aztlan: the Reformation of Chicano Tribe,† in The Color of Privilege 1996, ed Aida Hurtado. Ann Arbor: University Michigan Press, 1996. Munoz, Carlos. Youth Identity, Power: The Chicano Movement. London: Verso, 1989. Ogbar, Jeffrey. Black Power Radical Politics and African American Identity. Baltimore: John Hopkins UP, 2004, 124. Pinon, Fernando. Myths and Realities: Dynamics of Ethnic Politics. New York: Vantage Press, 1978.

General Guidelines for Strength Training :: essays research papers

General Guidelines for Strength Training 1. Train with a high level of intensity. It has been shown that the harder you train (intensity), the greater the adaptive response. A high level of intensity is characterized by performing an exercise to the point of concentric (positive) muscular failure, i.e., you've exhausted your muscles to the extent that the weight cannot be moved for any more repetitions. 2. Follow the "double progression" technique in regards to repetitions and weight. For a muscle to increase in size and strength it must be forced to do progressively harder work. Your muscles must be overloaded with a workload that is increased steadily throughout the course of your program, often referred to as progressive overload. Therefore every time you work out you should attempt to increase either the weight you use or the repetitions you perform relative to your previous workout. Each time you attain the maximum number of repetitions, you should increase the resistance for your next workout. The point to remember is that the weight must always be challenging. The resistance should be increased in an amount that you are comfortable with, usually approximately 5-10% 3. Perform one-two sets of each exercise. In order for a muscle to increase in size/strength it must be fatigued or overloaded for an adaptive response to occur. It really doesn't matter whether you fatigue your muscles in one set or several sets - as long as your muscles experience a certain level of exhaustion. Numerous research studies have shown that there are no significant differences when performing either one, two or three sets of an exercise, provided, of course, that one is done with an appropriate level of intensity, to the point of concentric muscular failure. 4. Reach concentric (lifting phase) muscular failure within a prescribed number of repetitions. The general recommendation is 8-12 reps, but this can vary from individual to individual and for different body parts and depending on the individuals goals. Normally, a rep scheme may be anywhere from 6-10 to 12-15. 5. Perform each repetition with proper form. This one we can't stress enough as it's such a common mistake, especially among young trainees. A repetition should be performed by raising and lowering the weight in a deliberate, controlled manner. So how many seconds per repetition? The general guideline is a 6 second repetition consisting of a 2 second lifting (concentric) phase, followed by a 4 second lowering (eccentric) phase.

Intro to Legal Analysis Writing

The statute on the next page deals with the denial of unemployment benefits in New Mexico. It lists the reasons for which the Division of Unemployment Services can disqualify a person from receiving unemployment benefits. Read the statute, and then answer the questions which follow. QUESTIONS: 1. Who enacted this statute? 2. Is this statutory mandatory or discretionary? Mandatory What causal term in the statute helped you answer this question? Shall 3. According to this statute, what are the three ways that a person can be denied unemployment benefits in New Mexico? . if it is determined by the division that the individual left employment voluntarily without good cause in connection with the employment 2. if it is determined by the division that the individual has been discharged for misconduct connected with the individual's employment 3. if it is determined by the division that the individual has failed without good cause either to apply for available, suitable work when so directe d or referred by the division or to accept suitable work when offered.Must a person do all three things to be disqualified from receiving benefits, or is it enough that they only do one of the listed things? It is enough if the person does only one of the 3 reasons listed What term in the statute helped you answer this question? Shall 4. Are there any exceptions to this statute? Yes there are exceptions If so, which of the three ways of being denied unemployment compensation do the exceptions apply to? The exceptions apply the first reason of denial of benefits. 5. Provide the Bluebook citation for this statute. N. M. STAT. ANN. Â § 51-1-7