Tesla Opens Its Super Charging Stations to All Electric Vehicles

Authors
Steven Cox James Foster, Bradley Brooks, James Foster
Region
North America
Topic
Ethics & Social Justice
Strategy & General Management
Length
11 pages
Keywords
Brand Promise
brand positioning
Hunt-Vitell Model of Marketing Ethics.
Copyright Holder
Society for Case Research
Student Price
$4.00
Target Audience
Faculty/Researchers

In mid-2023, competitor brands of electric vehicles (EVs) were collaborating with the dominant brand Tesla, just months after Tesla had created upheaval in the market. Tesla’s stunning 2022 announcement meant it would begin forgoing one of its competitive advantages: proprietary supercharger networks. The market leader, Tesla, would soon be allowing consumers of other EV brands access to its vast network of charging stations. Current Tesla owners, many of whom paid premium prices in part because of the availability to Tesla’s network of charging stations, however, were highly upset. For many Tesla owners the exclusive supercharger network was part of Tesla’s value proposition and Musk gave it away. This case facilitates the application of marketing strategy within business policies as a market moves from Introduction into Growth.

Learning Outcomes

In analyzing this case, students should be able to:

  1.  Identify the stages of an industry’s Product Life Cycle.
  2. Apply positioning theory to the growth of a new brand offering.
  3. Examine a brand promise.
  4. Evaluate the ethical implications for customers regarding a policy change that affect existing customers.