Tesla Motors: Burning Up the Road to Market Domination or Doom Net Present Value (NPV) / MBA Resources

Introduction to Net Present Value (NPV) - What is Net Present Value (NPV) ? How it impacts financial decisions regarding project management?

NPV solution for Tesla Motors: Burning Up the Road to Market Domination or Doom case study

At Oak Spring University, we provide corporate level professional Net Present Value (NPV) case study solution. Tesla Motors: Burning Up the Road to Market Domination or Doom case study is a Harvard Business School (HBR) case study written by Dante Pirouz, Karam Putros. The Tesla Motors: Burning Up the Road to Market Domination or Doom (referred as “Battery Tesla” from here on) case study provides evaluation & decision scenario in field of Sales & Marketing. It also touches upon business topics such as - Value proposition, Sales.

The net present value (NPV) of an investment proposal is the present value of the proposal’s net cash flows less the proposal’s initial cash outflow. If a project’s NPV is greater than or equal to zero, the project should be accepted.

NPV = Present Value of Future Cash Flows LESS Project’s Initial Investment

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Case Description of Tesla Motors: Burning Up the Road to Market Domination or Doom Case Study

Ten years after its founding, California-based Tesla Motors is close to becoming one of the world's premier luxury car manufacturers. Its innovative design - using carbon fibre and aluminum rather than steel to construct body and parts - and technology - lithium ion battery packs rather than gasoline for power and a simple powertrain to provide maximum acceleration - make its models treasured options for eco-friendly and tech-savvy consumers as well as wealthy professionals. Relying almost entirely on word-of-mouth promotion through social media, the company sells its cars through factory stores in upscale malls rather than through dealerships and has built service centres to provide free battery charging. However, just as it is expanding into Europe and Asia and is contemplating buying its own factory to secure its battery supply, three of its cars have burst into flames following collisions, although no one has been injured. In addition, analysts claim that the company has been covering up its lack of cash flow by using non-generally accepted accounting principles for reporting its revenue. The CEO knows that the company has tremendous potential but is struggling with public relations problems arising from the crashes and questions about its financial stability and return on investment to investors.

Case Authors : Dante Pirouz, Karam Putros

Topic : Sales & Marketing

Related Areas : Sales

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Calculating Net Present Value (NPV) at 6% for Tesla Motors: Burning Up the Road to Market Domination or Doom Case Study

Years	Cash Flow	Net Cash Flow	Cumulative     Cash Flow	Discount Rate @ 6 %	Discounted Cash Flows
Year 0	(10009730)	-10009730	-	-
Year 1	3444822	-6564908	3444822	0.9434	3249832
Year 2	3969920	-2594988	7414742	0.89	3533215
Year 3	3972220	1377232	11386962	0.8396	3335153
Year 4	3243231	4620463	14630193	0.7921	2568943
TOTAL			14630193		12687142

The Net Present Value at 6% discount rate is 2677412

In isolation the NPV number doesn't mean much but put in right context then it is one of the best method to evaluate project returns. In this article we will cover -

Different methods of capital budgeting

What is NPV & Formula of NPV,
How it is calculated,
How to use NPV number for project evaluation, and
Scenario Planning given risks and management priorities.

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Capital Budgeting Approaches

Methods of Capital Budgeting

There are four types of capital budgeting techniques that are widely used in the corporate world –

1. Payback Period
2. Profitability Index
3. Internal Rate of Return
4. Net Present Value

Apart from the Payback period method which is an additive method, rest of the methods are based on Discounted Cash Flow technique. Even though cash flow can be calculated based on the nature of the project, for the simplicity of the article we are assuming that all the expected cash flows are realized at the end of the year.

Discounted Cash Flow approaches provide a more objective basis for evaluating and selecting investment projects. They take into consideration both –

1. Magnitude of both incoming and outgoing cash flows – Projects can be capital intensive, time intensive, or both. Battery Tesla shareholders have preference for diversified projects investment rather than prospective high income from a single capital intensive project.
2. Timing of the expected cash flows – stockholders of Battery Tesla have higher preference for cash returns over 4-5 years rather than 10-15 years given the nature of the volatility in the industry.

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Formula and Steps to Calculate Net Present Value (NPV) of Tesla Motors: Burning Up the Road to Market Domination or Doom

NPV = Net Cash In Flowt1 / (1+r)t1 + Net Cash In Flowt2 / (1+r)t2 + … Net Cash In Flowtn / (1+r)tn
Less Net Cash Out Flowt0 / (1+r)t0

Where t = time period, in this case year 1, year 2 and so on.
r = discount rate or return that could be earned using other safe proposition such as fixed deposit or treasury bond rate. Net Cash In Flow – What the firm will get each year.
Net Cash Out Flow – What the firm needs to invest initially in the project.

Step 1 – Understand the nature of the project and calculate cash flow for each year.
Step 2 – Discount those cash flow based on the discount rate.
Step 3 – Add all the discounted cash flow.
Step 4 – Selection of the project

Why Sales & Marketing Managers need to know Financial Tools such as Net Present Value (NPV)?

In our daily workplace we often come across people and colleagues who are just focused on their core competency and targets they have to deliver. For example marketing managers at Battery Tesla often design programs whose objective is to drive brand awareness and customer reach. But how that 30 point increase in brand awareness or 10 point increase in customer touch points will result into shareholders’ value is not specified.

To overcome such scenarios managers at Battery Tesla needs to not only know the financial aspect of project management but also needs to have tools to integrate them into part of the project development and monitoring plan.

Calculating Net Present Value (NPV) at 15%

After working through various assumptions we reached a conclusion that risk is far higher than 6%. In a reasonably stable industry with weak competition - 15% discount rate can be a good benchmark.

Years	Cash Flow	Net Cash Flow	Cumulative     Cash Flow	Discount Rate @ 15 %	Discounted Cash Flows
Year 0	(10009730)	-10009730	-	-
Year 1	3444822	-6564908	3444822	0.8696	2995497
Year 2	3969920	-2594988	7414742	0.7561	3001830
Year 3	3972220	1377232	11386962	0.6575	2611799
Year 4	3243231	4620463	14630193	0.5718	1854328
TOTAL					10463454

The Net NPV after 4 years is 453724

(10463454 - 10009730 )

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Calculating Net Present Value (NPV) at 20%

If the risk component is high in the industry then we should go for a higher hurdle rate / discount rate of 20%.

Years	Cash Flow	Net Cash Flow	Cumulative     Cash Flow	Discount Rate @ 20 %	Discounted Cash Flows
Year 0	(10009730)	-10009730	-	-
Year 1	3444822	-6564908	3444822	0.8333	2870685
Year 2	3969920	-2594988	7414742	0.6944	2756889
Year 3	3972220	1377232	11386962	0.5787	2298738
Year 4	3243231	4620463	14630193	0.4823	1564058
TOTAL					9490370

The Net NPV after 4 years is -519360

At 20% discount rate the NPV is negative (9490370 - 10009730 ) so ideally we can't select the project if macro and micro factors don't allow financial managers of Battery Tesla to discount cash flow at lower discount rates such as 15%.

Acceptance Criteria of a Project based on NPV

Simplest Approach – If the investment project of Battery Tesla has a NPV value higher than Zero then finance managers at Battery Tesla can ACCEPT the project, otherwise they can reject the project. This means that project will deliver higher returns over the period of time than any alternate investment strategy.

In theory if the required rate of return or discount rate is chosen correctly by finance managers at Battery Tesla, then the stock price of the Battery Tesla should change by same amount of the NPV. In real world we know that share price also reflects various other factors that can be related to both macro and micro environment.

In the same vein – accepting the project with zero NPV should result in stagnant share price. Finance managers use discount rates as a measure of risk components in the project execution process.

Sensitivity Analysis

Project selection is often a far more complex decision than just choosing it based on the NPV number. Finance managers at Battery Tesla should conduct a sensitivity analysis to better understand not only the inherent risk of the projects but also how those risks can be either factored in or mitigated during the project execution. Sensitivity analysis helps in –

Understanding of risks involved in the project.

What will be a multi year spillover effect of various taxation regulations.

What can impact the cash flow of the project.

What are the uncertainties surrounding the project Initial Cash Outlay (ICO’s). ICO’s often have several different components such as land, machinery, building, and other equipment.

What are the key aspects of the projects that need to be monitored, refined, and retuned for continuous delivery of projected cash flows.

Some of the assumptions while using the Discounted Cash Flow Methods –

Projects are assumed to be Mutually Exclusive – This is seldom the came in modern day giant organizations where projects are often inter-related and rejecting a project solely based on NPV can result in sunk cost from a related project.

Independent projects have independent cash flows – As explained in the marketing project – though the project may look independent but in reality it is not as the brand awareness project can be closely associated with the spending on sales promotions and product specific advertising.

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Negotiation Strategy of Tesla Motors: Burning Up the Road to Market Domination or Doom

References & Further Readings

Dante Pirouz, Karam Putros (2018), "Tesla Motors: Burning Up the Road to Market Domination or Doom Harvard Business Review Case Study. Published by HBR Publications.