New United Motor Manufacturing, Inc. ( NUMMI ) was an American automobile manufacturing company in Fremont, California , jointly owned by General Motors and Toyota that opened in 1984 and closed in April 2010. The plant is located in the East Industrial area of Fremont next to the Mud Slough between Interstate 880 and Interstate 680 , the plant's peak production year was 2006, when it manufactured 428,633 vehicles.
82-636: After the plant was closed by its owners, the facility was sold to Tesla and reopened in October 2010, becoming known as the Tesla Fremont Factory . Before NUMMI, the site was the former Fremont Assembly that General Motors operated between 1962 and 1982. Employees at the Fremont plant were "considered the worst workforce in the automobile industry in the United States," according to a later recounting by
164-610: A Gigafactory Mexico to open in 2025, but its groundbreaking has been delayed. At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic , Tesla closed the Fremont Factory in March 2020 due to California state and Alameda county COVID restrictions. When California lifted restrictions, but the county did not, Tesla sued the county, and restarted production on May 11, 2020. The county lifted restrictions on May 13, 2020, and Tesla dropped its lawsuit. After
246-478: A joint venture to manufacture vehicles to be sold under both brands. GM saw the joint venture as a way to get access to quality small cars and an opportunity to learn about the Toyota Production System and The Toyota Way , a series of lean manufacturing and management philosophies that had made the company a leader in the automotive manufacturing and production industry. For Toyota, the factory gave
328-730: A mid-size car with a fastback body style and either a dual-motor, all-wheel drive layout or a rear-motor, rear-wheel drive layout. The vehicle was designed to be more affordable than the luxury Model S sedan. A prototype Model 3 was first shown in 2016 and within a week, the company received over 325,000 paid reservations. Deliveries started in July 2017. The Model 3 ranked as the world's best-selling electric car from 2018 to 2021, and cumulative sales passed 1 million in June 2021. The vehicle has seen one major design refresh in September 2023 which revised
410-415: A closer look at the three ways of departmentalization by purpose–product, customer, and location, there are some specific advantages related to it. First, self-containment tends to improve the ability for internal coordination within the unit. At the same time, the need for developing and maintaining extensive external coordination mechanisms is reduced. Second, a clearer focus on the purpose itself–serving
492-474: A correlation between the application of purpose departmentalization and the use of a diversification strategy: ”The dominant centralized structure had one basic weakness. A very few men were still entrusted with a great number of complex decisions. ... As long as an enterprise belonged in an industry whose market, sources of raw materials, and production processes remained relatively unchanged, few entrepreneurial decisions have to be reached. In that situation, such
574-499: A dual- or trimotor, all-wheel drive layout. The rear passenger doors open vertically with an articulating " falcon-wing " design. A prototype Model X was first shown in February 2012 and deliveries started in September 2015. The Model X shares around 30 percent of its content with the Model S. The vehicle has seen one major design refresh in June 2021 which revised the interior. The Model 3 is
656-451: A front row seat to learn about the production system, by 1998 (15 years later) GM had still not been able to implement lean manufacturing in the rest of the United States, though GM managers trained at NUMMI were successful in introducing the approach to its unionized factories in Brazil. By 2009, GM was in serious financial trouble and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization . In April
738-472: A large global engineering headquarters in Palo Alto, moving into a corporate campus once owned by Hewlett Packard . In early 2021, Tesla became a major investor in bitcoin , acquiring $ 1.5 billion of the cryptocurrency , and on March 24, 2021, the company started accepting bitcoin as a form of payment for US vehicle purchases. However, after 49 days, the company ended bitcoin payments over concerns that
820-477: A leader of the workers' own union, the United Auto Workers (UAW). GM as a company was departmentalized (design, manufacturing) as per Henry Ford 's division of labor , but without the necessary communication and collaboration between the departments. There was an adversarial relationship between workers and plant supervisors, with management not considering the employees' view on production, and quantity
902-498: A loss, citing that the cryptocurrency was hurting the company's profitability. Between May 2023 and February 2024, almost all major North America EV manufacturers announced plans to switch to Tesla's North American Charging Standard adapters on their EVs by 2025, which is expected to be a stable source of recurring revenue for Tesla. In November, Tesla started shipping the Cybertruck, produced from Gigafactory Texas. In April 2024,
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#1732844900290984-403: A new front-end design and again in June 2021, which revised the interior. The Model S was the top-selling plug-in electric car worldwide in 2015 and 2016. More than 250,000 vehicles have been sold as of December 2018 (when Tesla merged production numbers for the Model S and Model X). The Model X is a mid-size luxury crossover SUV offered in 5-, 6- and 7-passenger configurations with either
1066-584: A notably polarizing reception from media. On November 16, 2017, Tesla unveiled the second generation Roadster with a purported range of 620 miles (1,000 km) with a 200-kilowatt-hour (720 MJ) battery pack that would achieve 0–60 miles per hour (0–97 km/h) in 1.9 seconds; and 0–100 mph (0–161 km/h) in 4.2 seconds, and a top speed over 250 mph (400 km/h). A " SpaceX Package" would include cold-gas thrusters . The vehicle would have three electric motors, allowing all-wheel drive and torque vectoring during cornering. The base price
1148-471: A profit on vehicle servicing, which has traditionally been a large profit center for most auto dealerships. In 2016, Tesla recommended having any Tesla car inspected every 12,500 miles or once a year, whichever comes first. In early 2019, the manual was changed to say: "your Tesla does not require annual maintenance and regular fluid changes," and instead it recommends periodic servicing of the brake fluid, air conditioning, tires and air filters. Supercharger
1230-531: A similar number of defects per 100 vehicles. In 1990, for the 1991 model year, Toyota started building the Toyota Hilux (also known as the Toyota Pickup) at NUMMI, allowing the company to completely avoid the chicken tax , a 25 percent tariff on light trucks imposed in 1964. Previously, the company had avoided a large portion of the tariff by importing the truck as an incomplete chassis cab (which included
1312-484: A specific customer or market–is enabled. On the other hand, the sense of independence may result in a drift-off from the achievement of the overall objectives of the organization. Therefore, several authors have emphasized the need for establishing control systems that serve the purpose of allowing decentralized decisions, while still aligning all sub-units to the overall goals of the organization (Drucker 1954, Koontz & O’Donnell, 1964). Departmentalization by process, on
1394-425: A very small organization, yes; in a large organization, no. In a small organization, where there is not a full-time job on some days for a secretary, it is better to have a central secretarial pool than to have a private secretary for each man. In a large organization, the reverse is true.” (Gulick & Urwick, 1937) Studying the above characterizations of the two forms of departmentalization, purpose decentralization
1476-511: Is a full-sized pickup truck . First announced in November 2019, pilot production began in July 2023, after being pushed back multiple times, and deliveries began on November 30, 2023. Three models are offered: rear-wheel drive, dual-motor all-wheel drive, and trimotor all-wheel drive, with EPA range estimates of 320–340 miles (510–550 km), depending on the model. The truck's exterior design made from flat sheets of unpainted stainless steel earned
1558-579: Is concerned with building work around specific products, customers, or geographic locations, while process departmentalization encompasses the efficiency of ”production”. March and Simon (1958) described the basic difference between the two ways of departmentalization as following: ”Process departmentalization generally takes greater advantage of the potentialities for economy of specialization than does purpose departmentalization: purpose departmentalization leads to greater self-containment and lower coordination costs than process departmentalization.” When taking
1640-402: Is one of the world's most valuable companies in terms of market capitalization . Starting in July 2020, it has been the world's most valuable automaker. In October 2021, Tesla temporarily became a trillion-dollar company , the seventh U.S. company to do so, and did so again in November 2024. In 2023, the company led the battery electric vehicle market, with 19.9% share. Also in 2023, the company
1722-469: Is the branding used by Tesla for its high-voltage direct current fast chargers . Tesla also has a network of "Destination Chargers," slower than Superchargers and intended for locations where customers are expected to park and stay for several hours, such as hotels, restaurants, or shopping centers. Unlike the Supercharger network, Tesla does not own the destination chargers, instead, property owners set up
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#17328449002901804-400: Is to service its vehicles first through remote diagnosis and repair. If it is not possible to resolve a problem remotely, a mobile technician is dispatched or customers are referred to a local Tesla-owned service center. As of October 2024 , the company operates 1,306 retail stores, galleries, service, delivery and body shop locations globally. Tesla has said that it does not want to make
1886-562: The Model X SUV in 2015, the Model 3 sedan in 2017, the Model Y crossover in 2020, the Tesla Semi truck in 2022 and the Cybertruck pickup truck in 2023. In June 2021, the Model 3 became the first electric car to sell 1 million units globally. In 2023, the Model Y was the best-selling vehicle, of any kind, globally. In January 2024, the Model Y became the best-selling BEV in history. Tesla
1968-621: The NUMMI plant in Fremont, California from Toyota for $ 42 million. On June 29, 2010, the company went public via an initial public offering (IPO) on the NASDAQ , the first American car company to do so since the Ford Motor Company had its IPO in 1956. The company issued 13.3 million shares of common stock at a price of $ 17 per share, raising $ 226 million. In October 2010, Tesla opened
2050-560: The Tesla Factory to start production of the Model S. In January 2012, Tesla ceased production of the Roadster, and in June 2012, the company launched its second car, the Model S luxury sedan. The Model S won several automotive awards during 2012 and 2013, including the 2013 Motor Trend Car of the Year , and became the first electric car to top the monthly sales ranking of a country, when it topped
2132-512: The Toyota Tacoma , a pickup truck designed exclusively for the North American market. Up to May 2010, NUMMI built an average of 6,000 vehicles a week, or nearly eight million cars and trucks since opening in 1984. In 1997, NUMMI produced 357,809 cars and trucks. Production reached its annual peak of 428,633 units in 2006. Toyota took the lessons it learned from NUMMI and went on to establish
2214-607: The first-generation Tesla Roadster , is no longer sold. Tesla has plans for a second-generation Roadster , the Cybercab, and the Robovan. Here is a list of Tesla models: The Model S is a full-size luxury car with a liftback body style and a dual motor, all-wheel drive layout. Development of the Model S began before 2007 and deliveries started in June 2012. The Model S has seen two major design refreshes, first in April 2016, which introduced
2296-617: The supplier lines " in the Midwest "just doesn't make business sense" for Toyota. Autoworkers prepared for the shut down by refreshing skills and planning for career transitions. In March 2010, 90% of the workers at the plant approved a $ 281 million severance package from Toyota that had been negotiated by the UAW, averaging $ 54,000 to the plant's 4,700 employees. Production of the Corolla in North America
2378-426: The "development of electric vehicles, parts, and production system and engineering support." The two companies would later end their partnership in 2017. The plant, renamed the Tesla Fremont Factory , produces the Model S , Model X , Model 3 , and Model Y vehicles. As of 2023, the plant employs 22,000 people, far greater than the 5,500 employees of NUMMI, and produced nearly 560,000 vehicles, 30 percent more than
2460-514: The GM announced that it would pull out of NUMMI. On August 27, 2009, Toyota announced that it would also discontinue production at NUMMI by March 2010, marking the first time the company had ever closed a factory. In November 2009 call with autoworkers Toyota's head of U.S. sales said that though it was a difficult decision to shut down the plant, "the economics of having a plant in California so far away from
2542-730: The Model 3. In the first quarter of 2023, the Model Y outsold the Toyota Corolla to become the world's best-selling car, the first electric vehicle to claim the title. The Tesla Semi is a Class 8 semi-truck by Tesla, Inc. with a tri-motor, rear-wheel drive layout. Tesla claims that the Semi has approximately three times the power of a typical diesel semi truck, and a range of 500 miles (800 km). Two prototype trucks were first shown in November 2017 and initial deliveries were made to PepsiCo on December 1, 2022. Tesla stated in April 2024 that it plans full production in late 2025. The Cybertruck
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2624-573: The Norwegian new car sales list in September 2013. The Model S was also the best-selling plug-in electric car worldwide for the years 2015 and 2016. On July 15, 2013, Tesla became a NASDAQ-100 company. Tesla announced the Tesla Autopilot , a driver-assistance system, in 2014. In September that year, all Tesla cars started shipping with sensors and software to support the feature, with what would later be called "hardware version 1". Tesla entered
2706-469: The announcement event. Production is planned to commence sometime before 2027. The Tesla Robovan is an electric autonomous van planned for future development by Tesla. Announced in October 2024, the vehicle is being designed to carry up to 20 passengers. The original Tesla Roadster was a two-seater sports car, evolved from the Lotus Elise chassis. It was produced from 2008 to 2012. The Roadster
2788-512: The chairman of the board of directors and the largest shareholder of Tesla. J. B. Straubel joined Tesla in May 2004 as chief technical officer . A lawsuit settlement agreed to by Eberhard and Tesla in September 2009 allows all five – Eberhard, Tarpenning, Wright, Musk, and Straubel – to call themselves co-founders. Elon Musk took an active role within the company, but was not deeply involved in day-to-day business operations. The company's strategy
2870-486: The closure of NUMMI, several possible uses for the facility were proposed. In January 2010, the land was considered for a new stadium for the Oakland Athletics of Major League Baseball . It is close to the proposed site of Cisco Field , which was never formally approved. On March 10, 2010, Aurica Motors announced that it intended to raise investment capital and garner federal economic stimulus funds to help retrain
2952-656: The company announced it was laying off 10% of its employees. In June, the company moved its incorporation from Delaware to Texas. In October, the company unveiled a concept version of two autonomous vehicles—the Cybercab and Robovan —and detailed that both would be an integral part of a Tesla ridehailing service called the Tesla Network , a future service they had previously teased in 2019. As of November 2024 , Tesla offers six vehicle models: Model S, Model X, Model 3, Model Y, Semi, and Cybertruck. Tesla's first vehicle,
3034-546: The company confirmed its commitment to NUMMI and in June announced that it was scrapping the Pontiac brand which would end production of the Corolla-derived Pontiac Vibe at NUMMI by August 2009. That triggered several months of discussions between the automakers, trying to find products that could be produced at the factory for both companies, with Toyota even offering to build a version of its Prius hybrid for GM at
3116-472: The company its first manufacturing base in North America allowing it to avoid tariffs on imported vehicles and saw GM as a partner that could show them how to navigate the American labor environment, particularly relations with the United Auto Workers union. The companies made the unusual choice to remake the troubled Fremont Assembly into the new NUMMI plant. The leadership of the UAW union insisted on re-hiring
3198-462: The company uses individual vehicle data to offer personalized pricing that can increase or decrease in cost based on the prior month's driving safety score. Departmentalization Departmentalization (or departmentalisation ) refers to the process of grouping activities into departments. Division of labour creates specialists who need coordination . This coordination is facilitated by grouping specialists together in departments. Owing to
3280-464: The company's driving assist technology and product release timelines. The company was incorporated as Tesla Motors, Inc. on July 1, 2003, by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning . They served as chief executive officer and chief financial officer , respectively. Eberhard said that he wanted to build "a car manufacturer that is also a technology company", with its core technologies as "the battery,
3362-547: The company. In June 2009, Tesla was approved to receive $ 465 million in interest-bearing loans from the United States Department of Energy . The funding, part of the $ 8 billion Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Loan Program , supported the engineering and production of the Model S sedan, as well as the development of commercial powertrain technology. Tesla repaid the loan in May 2013, with $ 12 million in interest. In May 2010, Tesla purchased
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3444-459: The complexity of tasks and the competitive environment in which organisations operate, they often use a combination of the above-mentioned methods in departmentalization. As March and Simon (1958) noted when tracing a first approach to departmentalization back to Aristotle (Politics, Book IV, Chap. 15), the problem of distributing work, authority and responsibility throughout an organization is hardly new. In modern times, Gulick and Urwick (1937) were
3526-482: The computer software, and the proprietary motor". Ian Wright was Tesla's third employee, joined a few months later. In February 2004, the company raised US$ 7.5 million (equivalent to $ 12 million in 2023) in series A funding , including $ 6.5 million (equivalent to $ 10 million in 2023) from Elon Musk, who had received $ 100 million from the sale of his interest in PayPal two years earlier. Musk became
3608-581: The devices and set pricing. When the network first launched in 2014, Tesla provided free charging equipment and covered installation costs. One of the largest providers is hotel chain Hilton Worldwide which in 2023 announced an agreement with Tesla to install 20,000 chargers across 2,000 of its properties in North America by 2025. Tesla has offered its own vehicle insurance in the United States since 2017 and has been acting as an independent insurance producer since 2021 as Tesla Insurance Services, Inc. It
3690-474: The dispute with county officials, on December 1, 2021, Tesla moved its legal headquarters to Gigafactory Texas. However, Tesla continued to use its former headquarters building in Palo Alto, and over the next two years significantly expanded its footprint in California. The company opened its Megafactory to build Megapack batteries in Lathrop, California in 2022, and announced in February 2023 that it would establish
3772-454: The economies of the maximum use of labor saving machinery and mass production. ... there is danger that an organization erected on the basis of purpose will fail to make use of the most up-to-date technical devices and specialists because ... there may not be enough work of a given technical sort to permit efficient subdivision. Is there any advantage in placing specialized services like private secretaries or filing in [process departments]? In
3854-442: The emphasis on quality and teamwork by Toyota management as what motivated a change in work ethic. Among the cultural changes were the same uniform, parking and cafeterias for all levels of employment in order to promote a team concept, and a no- layoff policy. Built-in process quality and employee suggestion programs for continual improvement were other changes. Consensus decision-making reached management level, in contrast with
3936-423: The energy storage market, unveiling its Tesla Powerwall (home) and Tesla Powerpack (business) battery packs in April 2015. The company received orders valued at $ 800 million within a week of the unveiling. Tesla began shipping its third vehicle, the luxury SUV Tesla Model X , in September 2015, which had 25,000 pre-orders at the time. Tesla entered the solar installation business in November 2016 with
4018-535: The entire truck, less the truck bed) which only faced a 4% tariff. Once in the United States, Toyota Auto Body California (TABC) would produce the truck beds and attach them to the trucks. TABC was the first manufacturing investment in the U.S. for Toyota. This tariff loophole was closed in 1980. NUMMI did face some financial challenges, with cars costing more to build than at other GM plants and only operating at 58.6% capacity by 1988. The plant had not reached break-even by 1991. In January 1995, NUMMI began producing
4100-418: The exterior and interior. The Model Y is a mid-size crossover SUV offered in 5- and 7-passenger configurations with a single‐motor, rear-wheel drive or a dual-motor, all-wheel drive layout. The vehicle was designed to be more affordable than the luxury Model X SUV. A prototype Model Y was first shown in March 2019, and deliveries started in March 2020. The Model Y shared around 75 percent of its content with
4182-447: The factory. Fremont Mayor Bob Wasserman , city officials and California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger lobbied the automakers to find a product and keep NUMMI open. State officials crafted sales tax exemption on new factory equipment to preserve NUMMI. A regional committee was formed in February 2010 to investigate the closure of the plant, and the facility was appraised while operating. The talks ultimately failed and in June 2009
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#17328449002904264-564: The first automobile factory in China fully owned by a foreign company (not a joint venture). The factory's first production vehicle, a Model 3, rolled out in December, less than one year after groundbreaking. Gigafactory Berlin broke ground in February 2020, and its production of the Model Y began in March 2022. Gigafactory Texas broke ground in June 2020, and its production of the Model Y began in April 2022. In March 2023, Tesla announced plans for
4346-431: The first to introduce a theory of different departmentalization strategies, which were referred to as departmentalization by purpose and departmentalization by process . ”First [organization by major process] ... by bringing together in a single office a large amount of each kind of work (technologically measured), makes it possible in the most effective divisions of work and specialization. Second, it makes possible also
4428-425: The high level of specialization is a barrier for the flexible reallocation of resources within the organization, i.e. people can not perform other tasks than those they are working with in their functional occupation. The most common way of process departmentalization is the division of the firm into business functions, such as purchasing, manufacturing, sales, accounting, etc. Looking at the circumstances encompassing
4510-810: The maximum output of NUMMI. During its time in operation, the NUMMI joint venture factory produced the following models (model years): 37°29′41″N 121°56′41″W / 37.49472°N 121.94472°W / 37.49472; -121.94472 Tesla, Inc. Tesla, Inc. ( / ˈ t ɛ s l ə / TESS -lə or / ˈ t ɛ z l ə / TEZ -lə ) is an American multinational automotive and clean energy company. Headquartered in Austin, Texas , it designs, manufactures and sells battery electric vehicles (BEVs), stationary battery energy storage devices from home to grid-scale , solar panels and solar shingles , and related products and services. Tesla
4592-452: The most shorted companies in the stock market. On August 8, 2018, amid the financial issues, Musk posted on social media that he was considering taking Tesla private. The plan did not materialize and gave rise to much controversy and many lawsuits including a securities fraud charge from the SEC , which would force Musk to pay a $ 20 million fine and step down as the company's chairman, although he
4674-597: The old departmentalization . By December 1984 (two years after the closure of Fremont Assembly), NUMMI's first car, a yellow Chevrolet Nova , rolled off the assembly line. The plant started producing the Toyota Corolla in September 1986. Almost right away, the NUMMI factory was producing cars at the same speed as the Japanese factories and Corollas produced at NUMMI were judged to be equal in quality to those produced in Japan with
4756-502: The other hand, seeks to benefit from the advantages that are found in high specialization, and tends to be very efficient in some instances. A high degree of specialization leads to the development of proficiency and professional competence, as well as it enables, and implies, the development of centralized control functions. On the other hand, the problem of aligning individual and organizational goals remains. In addition, in this case, we would also need to consider departmental goals. Also,
4838-445: The plant and Toyota sent 30 managers and production coordinators from Japan, including the CEO, Tatsuro Toyoda , part of the company's founding family. Ahead of the reopening of the plant, Toyota sent many of the workers to Toyota's Takaoka plant in Japan to learn the Toyota Production System and actually work for a few days on the assembly line. Workers who made the transition identified
4920-412: The production line could not be started), and even committed petty acts of sabotage such as putting "Coke bottles inside the door panels, so they'd rattle and annoy the customer." Attempts to discipline workers were often met with grievances or even strikes, putting the plant into near-continuous chaos. By 1982, GM had had enough and closed Fremont Assembly and laid off its thousands of workers. At about
5002-530: The production of bitcoin was contributing to the consumption of fossil fuels, against the company's mission of encouraging the transition to sustainable energy. After the announcement, the price of bitcoin dropped around 12%. Tesla CEO Elon Musk later noted that Tesla would resume bitcoin payments if there was confirmation of at least 50% clean energy usage by bitcoin miners. Despite later reaching this milestone, Tesla did not return to accepting bitcoin. By July 2022 Tesla had sold about 75% of its bitcoin holdings at
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#17328449002905084-412: The production of the vehicles. This led to significant delays and production problems, a period which the company described as "production hell." By the end of 2018, the production problems had been overcome, and the Model 3 became the world's best-selling electric car from 2018 to 2021. This period of "production hell" put significant financial pressure on Tesla, and during this time it became one of
5166-486: The purchase of SolarCity , in an all-stock $ 2.6 billion deal. The business was merged with Tesla's existing battery energy storage products division to form the Tesla Energy subsidiary. The deal was controversial because at the time of the acquisition, SolarCity was facing liquidity issues of which Tesla's shareholders were not informed. In February 2017, Tesla Motors changed its name to Tesla, Inc. to better reflect
5248-417: The same time, GM was struggling to profitably build high-quality and fuel-efficient small cars that consumers demanded after the energy crisis of the 1970s . Consumers started turning to foreign automakers for these vehicles, prompting the U.S. Congress to consider import restrictions to protect the domestic auto industry. That led GM and Toyota to team up and create New United Motor Manufacturing, Inc. (NUMMI),
5330-482: The same union leadership that had overseen GM's worst workforce. GM was against it, but Toyota agreed, believing that their system could turn things around. However, Toyota insisted that the plant would need to operate differently and old seniority rules would not apply. The workers hated the proposed changes, but desperately needed jobs. Ultimately, over 85% of NUMMI's initial workforce were the workers laid off at Fremont Assembly in 1982. GM would also assign 16 managers to
5412-409: The scope of its expanded business. Tesla unveiled its first mass market vehicle in April 2016, the Model 3 sedan. The Model 3 was less expensive than Tesla's previous three vehicles, and within a week, the company received over 325,000 paid reservations. To speed up production and control costs, Tesla invested heavily in robotics and automation to assemble the Model 3, but the robotics actually slowed
5494-550: The total private financing investment to over $ 105 million. In August 2007, Eberhard was asked by the board, led by Elon Musk, to step down as CEO. Eberhard then took the title of "President of Technology" before ultimately leaving the company in January 2008. Co-founder Marc Tarpenning, who served as the Vice President of Electrical Engineering of the company, also left the company in January 2008. In August 2007, Michael Marks
5576-411: The use of either of the departmentalization strategies, we find that departmentalization by process generally is advantageous in cases of stable environments, while departmentalization by purpose, featuring self-containment and certain amounts of independence, appears to be the appropriate strategy for handling changing or unpredictable circumstances. Alfred Chandler (in: March and Simon, 1958) identified
5658-483: The vehicle should be available for delivery in the first half of 2025. The Tesla Cybercab, also known as the Robotaxi, is an upcoming two-passenger battery-electric self-driving car under development by Tesla. The vehicle will be fully autonomously controlled, and has no steering wheel or pedals. A concept version of the Cybercab was unveiled in October 2024, with 20 prototypes providing short rides to attendees of
5740-570: The wholly-owned Toyota Motor Manufacturing USA (later renamed Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky ) and Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada plants in 1986, and by 2009 the company was operating a dozen manufacturing facilities in North America. However, NUMMI remained Toyota's only unionized plant in the United States. GM executives, particularly CEO John F. Smith Jr. , attempted to spread the Toyota Production System to other assembly plants, but it proved largely unsuccessful. Despite having
5822-453: The workers and retool the facility for production of electric vehicles. Both proposals went nowhere. On May 20, 2010, Tesla Motors announced that it would purchase most (210 of 370 acres) of the former NUMMI site from Toyota for $ 42 million, significantly under market value. As part of the agreement, Toyota would also purchase $ 50 million of common stock when Tesla held its IPO the next month. In exchange, Tesla agreed to partner with Toyota on
5904-591: Was added to the S&;P index on December 21, 2020; it was the most valuable company ever added, and was the sixth-largest member of the index immediately after it was added. Tesla introduced its second mass-market vehicle in March 2019, the Model Y mid-size crossover SUV , based on the Model 3. Deliveries started in March 2020. During this period, Tesla invested heavily in expanding its production capacity, opening three new Gigafactories in quick succession. Construction of Gigafactory Shanghai started in January 2019, as
5986-505: Was allowed to remain the CEO. From July 2019 to June 2020, Tesla reported four consecutive profitable quarters for the first time, which made it eligible for inclusion in the S&;P 500 . During 2020, its share price increased 740%, and by December 14, 2020, its market capitalization was more than the next nine largest automakers combined, and it became the sixth most valuable company in the US. Tesla
6068-620: Was brought in as interim CEO, and in December 2007, Ze'ev Drori became CEO and president. Musk succeeded Drori as CEO in October 2008. In June 2009, Eberhard filed a lawsuit against Musk for allegedly forcing him out. The case was dismissed in August 2009. Tesla began production of the Roadster in 2008 inside the service bays of a former Chevrolet dealership in Menlo Park. By January 2009, Tesla had raised $ 187 million and delivered 147 cars. Musk had contributed $ 70 million of his money to
6150-458: Was founded in July 2003 by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning as Tesla Motors . Its name is a tribute to inventor and electrical engineer Nikola Tesla . In February 2004, Elon Musk joined as Tesla's largest shareholder; in 2008, he was named chief executive officer . In 2008, the company began production of its first car model, the Roadster sports car, followed by the Model S sedan in 2012,
6232-688: Was introduced after the American Automobile Association (AAA), a major insurance carrier, raised rates for Tesla owners in June 2017 after a report concluded that the automakers vehicles crashed more often and were pricier to repair than comparable vehicles. A study in 2018 based on data from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety confirmed the findings. The company says that it uniquely understands its vehicles, technology and repair costs, and can eliminate traditional insurance carriers' additional charges. In states where allowed,
6314-418: Was preferred over quality. Like all American car plants, the production lines at Fremont seldom stopped, and when mistakes were made, cars continued down the line with the expectation that they would be fixed later. By the early 1980s, the adversarial relationship had deteriorated to the point where employees drank alcohol, smoked marijuana (at the time, an illegal activity), were frequently absent (enough so that
6396-506: Was ranked 69th in the Forbes Global 2000 . Tesla has been the subject of lawsuits, government scrutiny, and journalistic criticism , stemming from allegations of multiple cases of whistleblower retaliation, worker rights violations such as sexual harassment and anti-union activities, safety defects leading to dozens of recalls, the lack of a public relations department, and controversial statements from Musk including overpromising on
6478-402: Was set at $ 200,000. Initially scheduled to ship in 2020, the vehicle has been repeatedly delayed. In July 2024, Musk said that the Roadster should enter production in 2025. The Tesla next-generation vehicle is an announced battery electric platform. It would become the third platform for the company. Vehicles based on this platform are not expected before 2025. In July 2024, Musk said that
6560-706: Was shifted to Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada until the new Toyota Motor Manufacturing Mississippi assembly plant could open in October 2011. Production of the Tacoma had already partially shifted to Toyota Motor Manufacturing de Baja California in 2004, and the remaining work shifted to Toyota Motor Manufacturing Texas . At 9:40am on April 1, 2010, the plant produced its last car, a red Toyota Corolla. NUMMI sold off equipment at an auction, with robots and tooling going to Toyota's plants in Kentucky, Texas and Mississippi. NUMMI sold some equipment to Tesla for $ 15 million. Ahead of
6642-482: Was the first highway-legal serial production electric car to use lithium-ion battery cells, and the first production all-electric car to travel more than 200 miles (320 km) per charge. Tesla cars come with "Standard Connectivity", which provides navigation using a cellular connection. For a fee, Tesla offers a subscription to "Premium Connectivity" which adds live traffic and satellite maps to navigation, internet browsing, and media streaming. Tesla's strategy
6724-580: Was to start with a premium sports car aimed at early adopters and then move into more mainstream vehicles, including sedans and affordable compacts. In February 2006, Musk led Tesla's Series B venture capital funding round of $ 13 million, which added Valor Equity Partners to the funding team. Musk co-led the third, $ 40 million round in May 2006 which saw investment from prominent entrepreneurs including Google co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page , and former eBay President Jeff Skoll . A fourth round worth $ 45 million in May 2007 brought
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