Tesla is considered one of the most valuable and innovative companies in the world. I had the honour and privilege of learning from giants as an EMEA Merchandise and Vehicle Accessories intern at the company. I learned and accomplished so much in so little time and was able to see for myself why and how Tesla can get so much done and achieve incredible milestones on the path to sustainable energy. Here are three of the most important lessons I will take with me forever.
Number one: Value your brand purpose the most. Having a strong and well-developed purpose is the foundation for a brand that lasts. This single ultimate goal is essential to inspire not only your target audience, consumers, and investors but also everyone who works or will work with you in the future. The sense of purpose at Tesla is palpable. People are in a hurry to accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy, and they give their absolute best every day to make that goal a reality. And with every car sold, we get closer to a cleaner planet. Their purpose benefits everyone. They made their purpose everyone’s purpose. Tesla’s innovative, minimalistic, and luxurious design is also well aligned with that mission and essential to transmit its message. This helps to increase sales, build loyalty, and inspire the best of the best to want to work with you.
Number two: Learn to profit from your ideas. I heard many times that “an idea is nothing if not executed”. Although I do agree with this statement, it is also possible to transform ideas into real gain after you have established confidence that you can execute them in the future. For example, Tesla first announced the Cybertruck in 2019. It was nothing but a prototype and a brilliant idea for a futuristic (bad-ass) electric truck. To this date, August 2023, no consumer has received or driven a Cybertruck. But this did not stop pre-sales, rising stock prices and the creation of merchandise around it. There are entire product lines around the idea of a Cybertruck, and this transformed the concept into real revenue.
Number three: Learn to manage resources. Valuing and carefully managing every resource is crucial for the success of every business. Whether it is time, money, labour, or knowledge, no matter how big the company gets and how much they make, every dollar counts. Like this, you will be able to always achieve incredible accomplishments by spending the least amount of resources. That involves coming up with creative solutions to cut costs. For example, before the Giga Factory in Berlin was built, instead of shipping assembled cars from the United States to Europe, Tesla used to ship vehicles in parts and assemble them in Tilburg, NL, in order to avoid high amount of tariffs.
Having this experience was a deep transformation in my career. These are only a few of the many insights I absorbed while working there, and I hope they will help you achieve your goals.
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