Discussions in this course are post-first activities, which means that you are required to upload your completed initial post first before others posts are viewable.
Before posting the discussion messages, please read the term project instructions.
This activity will provide you with an opportunity to engage in a discussion with this class on a project topic that you have selected to implement as the term project. The class interaction will foster a learning environment in which you will learn from each others experiences and opinions.
In addition, you will practice using project management jargon and expressing your opinions in a professional manner. The options available in this discussion have ethical considerations that are important to consider as a project manager.
My project proposal would be the Tesla Cybertruck. I choose this because it seems to be a hot topic online lately as far as the newest innovation of technology out so far.
The industry Tesla is mainly about electric cars and other renewable energy resources, but mainly, electric cars. The company is mainly known for their electric cars, and only within the last couple of years gotten into the solar business. Current industry trends show that they are gaining popularity quickly because their cars are becoming affordable to the masses, instead of only for the rich.
A SWOT analysis is that their strengths are they have perfected the manufacturing process and acquisition of electric cars and their components/battery packs. They are able to negotiate well with vendors to keep the pricing of said components down. Their weaknesses are the unreliability and impulsiveness of Elon Musk which can sometimes make a good or bad presentation for them, as well as their struggle to get their production facilities at full output on the schedule they expected. Their opportunity is when they get into the solar department, they are able to sell complete kits including the vehicle, the solar panels, and the battery packs needed to charge them and on off the grid. Their threat would be the other companies such as Ford coming into the electric car market where they are already well known as a manufacturer and can put up good competition at the same affordable price.
I will focus on the marketing side of things where they can change their marketing to make the cybertruck appeal more to the people who would get the most benefit from a vehicle such as that. People who are already in the market for a truck but do not want to spend the $40,000-50,000 on a new Ford or Toyota because they want to be able to use it for just short commutes and the occasional “truck task” here and there.
I calculated the ROI spreadsheet based on average market variables such as vendor discounts typically given to long term customers as well as cost of manufacturing going down further and further based on the timeline they expect to expand and finish developing their newest production factories around the world.
The most challenge part of this was to determine what the topic should be, there are so many interesting, new technologies out there right now, it is hard to settle on just one to look in to, but this one is so controversial right now, it sounded fun.