Abstract
PurposeInstead of merely adding a socially popular mission to its existing business goals, Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk has innovated its operations by working backwards from its mission of saving the planet by making and selling a vast number of electric cars in order to help remove a principal cause of an approaching global environmental disaster.Design/methodology/approachWhen Elon Musk became CEO in 2008, Tesla’s mission of saving the planet by replacing gasoline-driven cars with electric cars seemed a preposterous overreach.FindingsTesla is not only making extraordinary progress towards the accomplishment of its mission, but the mission serves as an accelerator of its business generally and its innovations in particular.Practical implicationsThe example of CEO Musk showing up on the factory floor, and working shoulder to shoulder with the staff in teams and mobs to solve urgent bottleneck issues sets the tone of Tesla’s workplace. The overriding preoccupation with accelerating innovation is enabled by modularity in design.Originality/valueA unique study of Tesla’s post-Agile management innovations by an expert on Agile teams and practices.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
