Design Thinking at Tesla
๐ง๐ฒ๐๐น๐ฎ ๐ถ๐ ๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐น๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฎ๐๐๐ผ๐บ๐ผ๐ฏ๐ถ๐น๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ป๐ถ๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐๐๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐ด๐ป ๐ง๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ธ๐ถ๐ป๐ด to innovate and develop compelling electric vehicles.
When the Tesla Roadster model was released in 2008, its sales were a complete disaster. However, when the first Tesla Model S was released in 2012, it was a game changer. Subsequent innovations propelled the companyโs market cap from USD6.78B in 2012 to USD792 billion in 2023.
๐๐๐ ๐ต๐ผ๐ ๐ง๐ฒ๐๐น๐ฎ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ต๐ถ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐๐ถ๐๐ต ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐ด๐ป ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ธ๐ถ๐ป๐ด?
Teslaโs design thinking approach involves understanding customer needs, imagining new solutions, leveraging materials science, rapid prototyping, and iterating on designs until they are perfect. This approach allowed Tesla to create electric vehicles that are both desirable and technologically advanced.
๐๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ธ๐ฒ-๐ฎ๐๐ฎ๐๐ ๐ณ๐ฟ๐ผ๐บ ๐ง๐ฒ๐๐น๐ฎโ๐ ๐๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐ด๐ป ๐ง๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ธ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ต:
๐๐๐๐๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ๐ฟ-๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ถ๐๐: Tesla focuses on understanding what customers want in an electric vehicle and then designing slick vehicles that meet those needs. Tesla integrated artificial intelligence to its vehicles to improve driving experiences from autopilot, cruise control, through autosteering to over-the-air updates.
๐ฅ๐ถ๐๐ธ ๐๐ผ๐น๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐ฝ๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป: The company didnโt just adopt what other car companies were doing. Instead, it was willing to test new designs and power storage technologies. Tesla has made significant improvements to the rechargeable lithium battery technology, making them more energy-dense, longer-lasting, and cheaper to produce compared to General Motorsโ EV1 batteries.
๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐บ ๐ช๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐๐ผ ๐ช๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ถ๐ณ? When Elon Musk started Tesla, he questioned the assumption that electric cars had to be expensive. He discovered that the only reason electric cars were expensive was because they were made with expensive batteries. He then set out to develop a new battery that was more affordable.
๐๐ผ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ป๐๐ผ๐๐ ๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป: The company didnโt give up on research and experimenting new designs even when it faced challenges. Instead, it kept iterating on its designs until they were perfect. In 2018 Teslaโs Model-3 was named the worldโs best-selling plug-in electric car for the year.
๐ ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฎ๐น๐ ๐ง๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ธ๐ถ๐ป๐ด: Tesla uses sustainable materials and focuses on reducing the weight of the car to lower the cost. They also made the car more efficient by using a single-motor design. This resulted in a car that is both affordable and environmentally friendly.
Teslaโs success is a testament to the power of design thinking and Elon Muskโs first principle thinking to problem-solving.
What do you think about Teslaโs approach to innovation?
Follow us for more case studies on Design Thinking in innovation.