Tesla Product Innovation and Smartcar Roadmaps 2008 - 2017

In this section we present an insightful framework for organizing disruptive product innovations at discrete moments in time. We apply the framework to Tesla smart cars beginning with the company's first all-electric car, the 2008 Tesla Roadster, and continue through to its latest and most affordable electric vehicle, the Tesla Model 3, which is expected to ship for the first time in 2017.

We refer to the diagram above as the Cyclefund Strategic Product Innovation Framework for the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Powered Smart Car Suite Phase of the Electrification of Things (EoT) Era. The framework is invaluable for constructing multidimensional strategic product roadmaps across dimensions of time and market segments, as shown for the first time in the Tesla smartcar roadmaps below.

In the diagram above, the 2008 Tesla Roadster all-electric automobile is positioned in the test-market, innovative-product quadrant (lower left) of the strategic innovation framework and visually constitutes the 2008 view of the multidimensional strategic product roadmap for the Tesla Smartcar Suite.

In the diagram above, the 2012 Tesla Roadster and Model S all-electric cloud-connected smartcars are respectively positioned in the test-market, innovative-product quadrant (lower left) and the luxury-market, premium-product quadrant (lower right) of the strategic innovation framework and together visually constitute the 2012 view of the multidimensional strategic product roadmap for the Tesla Smartcar Suite.

In the diagram above, the 2015 Tesla Model S and Model X all-electric cloud-connected AI-powered smartcars are both positioned in the luxury-market, premium-product quadrant (lower right) of the strategic innovation framework and together visually constitute the 2015 view of the multidimensional strategic product roadmap for the Tesla Smartcar Suite.

In the diagram above, the prospective 2017 Tesla Model S, Model X, and Model 3 all-electric cloud-connected AI-powered smartcars are positioned in the luxury-market, premium-product quadrant (lower right for the Model S and X) and the mass-market, premium-product quadrant (upper right for Model 3) of the strategic innovation framework and collectively visually constitute the 2017 expected view of the multidimensional strategic product roadmap for the Tesla Smartcar Suite.

Tesla Product Positioning and Smartcar Evolution 2008 - 2017

In this section we present a powerful and insightful positioning framework for structurally organizing and dynamically analyzing product innovations over time. We apply the framework to Tesla smart cars from 2008 through 2017.

We refer to the diagram above as the Cyclefund Strategic Product Positioning Framework for the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Powered Smartcar, Smart Grid, and Smart Home Phases of the Electrification of Things (EoT) Era. The positioning framework is useful for visualizing a company's operational scope across key competitive dimensions.

For example, as shown in the diagram above, Tesla smartcars are positioned in the mobile-things, connected-consumer quadrant (upper left), Tesla solar panels and power walls (not shown) are positioned in the non-mobile-things, connected-consumer quadrant (upper right), Tesla power packs and utility-grade solar panels (not shown) are positioned in the non-mobile-things, global-infrastructure quadrant (lower right), and Tesla supercharger networks and destination-charging networks (not shown) are positioned in the mobile-things, global-infrastructure quadrant (lower left) of the in the strategic positioning framework. Lastly, Tesla apps and cloud services for managing sustainable transport and sustainable heating and cooling are positioned at the heart, center, and core of the diagram, thereby spanning all of its core dimensions (mobile things, non-mobile things, connected consumer, and global infrastructure).

We refer to the diagram above as the Cyclefund Strategic Positioning and Innovation Framework for the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Powered Smartcar Suite Phase of the Electrification of Things (EoT) Era. It is a multidimensional diagram comprising two distinct nested matrices. The outermost matrix represents dimensions defined by the Cyclefund Strategic Positioning Framework for the EoT Era. The nested innermost matrix represents dimensions defined by the Cyclefund Strategic Innovation Framework for the Smartcar phase of the EoT Era.

The dimensions of the outermost strategic positioning matrix are the mobile things dimension and the connected consumer dimension. The dimensions of the nested innermost strategic innovation matrix are the premium suite dimension, the low-cost suite dimension, the test market dimension, the luxury market dimension, and the mass market dimension. Collectively, these core dimensions define four key competitive positioning spaces for the smartcar phase of the EoT era:

1. Innovative mobile smartcar suites for cloud-connected consumer test markets
2. Premium mobile smartcar suites for cloud-connected consumer luxury markets
3. Premium mobile smartcar suites for cloud-connected consumer mass markets
4. Low-cost mobile smartcar suites for cloud-connected consumer mass markets

Each of these unique and highly valuable competitive positioning spaces is illustrated in the strategic positioning innovation framework above, beginning from the lower left-hand quadrant and reading through the remaining quadrants in a counter clockwise direction.

In the previous section we combined the Cyclefund strategic positioning framework with the Cyclefund strategic innovation framework to form a unified positioning and innovation framework. In this section, we extend the unified framework by introducing time as a new analytical dimension. We refer to the resulting framework as the Cyclefund Strategic Positioning, Innovation, and Evolution Framework for the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Powered Smartcar Suite Phase of the Electrification of Things (EoT) Era. The framework is a powerful analytical tool for not only understanding and analyzing competitive product positioning and product innovation strategies but also product evolution strategies over time.

We refer to this diagram as the Cyclefund Strategic Positioning, Innovation, and Evolution Framework for the Tesla Cloud-Connected All-Electric AI-Powered Smart Car Suite from 2008 - 2016 Actual and 2017 Estimated within the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Powered Smartcar Suite Phase of the Electrification of Things (EoT) Era. In the diagram above, the blue-path innovation and evolution pathway begins with the original Tesla Roadster in the test-market, innovative-product quadrant (lower left) in 2008, moves to the updated Tesla Roadster in the test-market, innovative-product quadrant (lower left) and the newly introduced Model S in the luxury-market, premium-product quadrant (lower right) in 2012, continues with the updated Model S and newly introduced Model X in the luxury-market, premium-product quadrant (lower right) in 2015, and is expected to culminate with the updated Model S and updated Model X in the luxury-market, premium-product quadrant (lower right) and the newly introduced Model 3 in the mass-market, premium-product quadrant (upper right) in 2017.