Tesla Motors
Location: San Carlos, Calf.
CEO: Ze?ev Drori
Revenues: N/A (private)
What they do: Makes high-performance electric cars.
Disruptive qualities: The Tesla Roadster ain?t a Prius. It?s a super-slinky sports car that rockets from 0 to 60 mph in less than four seconds. And it doesn?t have a gas tank. The heart of a Tesla car is a battery bank made up of several thousand consumer-grade lithium-ion cells constantly monitored by a proprietary electronic Vehicle Management System. The Power Electronics Module handles high-voltage connections to the 115-pound AC motor. All of which means that without stopping to recharge, you can go 200 miles ? really fast.
The tech that makes them tick: In addition to its cars, Tesla is becoming known for running super-tight product lifecycle management, based on Arena?s PLM platform, which rigorously reviews every engineering change order for accuracy, completeness and adherence to company procedures. The firm?s engineering configuration management specialists work with design engineers, manufacturing engineers and supply chain managers to create a product database that takes Tesla products from prototype and development to production and post-release updates.
Who they are disrupting: Tesla is rattling the cages of big auto and big oil.
