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New York Magazine Case

Satisfactory Essays

New York Magazine, Case in the News 1. What management challenges is Elon Musk facing as he prepares SolarCity to make its own solar panels? Elon Musk faces several management challenges in preparing SolarCity to make its own solar panels. First, rather than following suit behind companies that are focusing on the “platform-only model” and doing business solely as the middleman, Musk proposes that SolarCity make their own photovoltaic panels rather than purchase them from outside suppliers. This may prove to be a bit of a challenge because SolarCity will need to spend more time and money on the resources required to manufacture these photovoltaic panels instead of buying them from suppliers. Resources such as equipment, raw materials …show more content…

30). New York is also continuing to provide additional subsidies and perks as well. Therefore, the money and resources that Musk needs in expanding manufacturing for SolarCity is up for grabs. With increases in technology for instance, SolarCity will be able to create solar panels more efficiently and effectively. Also, with this new development as many as a thousand jobs could be created just in this region (p. 30). Therefore, Musk will have the human resources needed to get manufacturing of the solar panels up and running, while also benefitting New York in the process, providing a step up in green-energy innovation. Musk has a plan and has set goals for SolarCity to “out-China China,” (p. 30) by manufacturing solar panels themselves with different technology so that costs will actually be lower and the quality of the product will be better. Therefore, lower costs to produce solar panels would also mean lower costs to consumers than in the past, making solar panels more affordable so that consumer demand may also increase. It also helps to have lower costs in manufacturing if the industry loses some of its subsidies in the future (p. 30). Furthermore, Musk hopes that SolarCity-Silevo will make it easier and more cost-efficient for customers to get solar panels installed on their homes (p. 30). Lastly, although it’s a “risky bet for Musk and SolarCity” (p. 30), fossil fuels are a limited resource and the

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