Tesla Motors Course Project

Tesla Motors, Incorporated

An Audit Risk Assessment

Kyle Holloway

Spring Hill College

Tesla Motors, Incorporated is an automotive company that focuses on the design, development, manufacturing and selling of high-performance fully electric vehicles and advanced electric vehicle powertrain components. Tesla’s main products include: The Tesla Roadster, the Model S, Model X, Powertrain Development and Sales, Battery Packs, Power Electronics, Motors, Gearboxes, and Control Software. The company uses various raw materials to produce the previously mentioned products, mostly metals – such as aluminum, steel, nickel and copper.

Tesla Motors is a relatively small automotive company compared to most other companies within the industry with a staff size of only 1,417 employees. In 2011, Tesla Motors saw a considerable amount of growth in sales, increasing from $116,744 in 2010 to $204,242. The company also has assets totally $713,448 as of 2011. Tesla Motors is head-quartered in Palo Alto, California and also has other locations in Hawthorne, California and Maidenhead, United Kingdom.

Tesla Motors has close ties to a few different companies, particularly companies related to the electric vehicle industry. Beginning in 2008, Tesla Motors has entered into close relations with the Daimler AG, to perform specific research and development services for the development of a battery pack and charger for Daimler’s Smart fortwo electric drive. In May 2010, Tesla announced their intentions to cooperate with Toyota on the development of electric vehicles, and for Tesla to receive Toyota’s support with sourcing parts and production and engineering expertise for Model S. Tesla Motors also announced a collaborative effort with Panasonic on the development of next-generation electric vehicle cells based on the 18650 form factor and nickel based lithium ion chemistry.

There are some very key economic factors in the automotive industry in general that directly affect Tesla Motors....