Peer Review

Tesla's Entry into the U.S. Auto Industry - Case Study

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Reviewed:: Jun 29, 2025 by Business

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Ratings

Overall Rating:

Content Quality:

Effectiveness:

Ease of Use:

Overview:

Tesla's Entry into the U.S. Auto Industry is case study, which presents background information on the traditional automobile industry; millennials' tranportation consumer practices, car buying habits, and attitudes towards the automobile industry; and electric vehicle manufacturers' costs and other factors which impacted their entry into the automobile industry. There a three versions of the learning material available: PDF with watermarks, PDF without watermarks for educators, and an audio version. The PDF versions have embedded links with additional materials such as Elon Musk's Master Plans and there are data visualizations. The audio version is a reading of the case study over a still photo posted on YouTube and it is a 50:33 minutes in length. There are no embedded links or data visualization although the data visualization or exhibits are referred to in the recording.

Type of Material:

Case Study

Recommended Uses:

Questions can be developed for use in a discussion in class.
Homework assignment asking students to analyze the case study
Can use the case study as a part of a research paper on electric vehicles in the market economy.

Technical Requirements:

Microsoft Edge, Chrome

Identify Major Learning Goals:

The student will learn to:

Analyze the changing dynamics of the auto industry.
Critically assess Tesla's strategic alignment with market trends.
Evaluate the effectiveness of Tesla's approach to overcoming industry challenges.
Assess the fit of a company’s strategy;
Assess the structural attributes of its industry;
Evaluate how well a company is executing its strategy.

Target Student Population:

The target student population is students enrolled in college upper division and graduate school level:

business strategy,
entrepeneneurship,
leadership and
operations management courses.

Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills:

Basic understanding of business strategy and management principles.

Content Quality

Rating:

Strengths:

The case study effectively introduces key concepts related to Tesla's innovation and disruption within the automotive sector.
It is written in an engaging manner, which encourages reader interest and participation in discussions.
The learning material is current and relevant in 2023.
References are cited through out the material and over 144 endnotes are included.
The case study can be used in several different courses in a number of ways.

Concerns:

The analysis could be more rigorous, providing a stronger foundation for claims made.
Additional empirical data would enhance credibility. For instance, while it mentions Tesla's financial challenges, specific financial metrics or comparisons to industry benchmarks would provide a clearer picture of its performance relative to competitors.

Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool

Rating:

Strengths:

The learning objectives are identified.
It can be easily integrated into a curriculum assignment.
A lot of information about the automobile industry can be learned in a short amount of time.
The case study fosters an opportunity for educators to identify clear learning objectives, and align the concepts covered in this case study with learning activities and assessments. This approach not only enhances their comprehension but also encourages critical thinking and application of concepts, ultimately leading to a more meaningful learning experience.

Concerns:

The case study lacked practical application or actionable insights that learners could apply to real-world scenarios.
The tone and assertions in the case study can be viewed as “one-sided” and minimally offer alternative viewpoints beyond the authors’ claims.
Despite being able to integrate this case study into a classroom curriculum, the educator will need to employ strategic approaches to create learning objectives/outcomes, design relevant learning activities, and measurable (relevant) assessments.
An instructor will need to provide additional information to reinforce, build upon, and demonstrate the relationships between concepts for a specific course.
The learning materials can not be used to measure students learning outcomes by itself.

Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty

Rating:

Strengths:

The case study is user-friendly and straightforward.
The writing is approachable and engaging to the reader.
The charts are visually appealing and introduce the reader to the case study facts in a different way, which enhances the learning experience.
It offers a written and auditory version of the case study which makes this accessible to diverse learners.
The learning material's PDF version is easy to open and is organized with headings. The audio version had transcripts and closed captioning. Both were easy to use.

Concerns:

Neither version has additional graphics or visually appealing information.
The PDF version was primarily text-based with some data visualizations. The case study was read over a still photo in the audio version with no additional visual content and no data visualizations.
The learning material was not interactive.
Accessing the case study requires the user to access different components of the web and the actual case study, which creates a fragmented user experience. This disruption in the flow may cause challenges to learners fully engaging with the resource.

Other Issues and Comments:

Frequency of Updates: Regularly updating the material to reflect the latest developments in the automotive industry and technology. Consider establishing a schedule for periodic reviews to keep the content relevant and accurate.
User Engagement: Consider incorporating interactive elements to enhance learner engagement, such as knowledge checks or discussion forums, which can provide immediate feedback and foster a collaborative learning environment.

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