Limitations on the Study
While discussions about oil and gas as energy sources utilized for automobiles are extensive, when it comes to electric energy as a source of making the cars on the move, the literature is still very new and in progress. Therefore, there is a limitation in the electric energy existent research, because this field is now emerging. However, this limitation impedes the current research from a cursive development.
Precisely the fact that this sector of electric car is now emerging makes Tesla a successful pioneer in the industry. Nevertheless, there other similar attempts on the market of electric automobiles, but because they come from small or medium start – up companies they do not have the financial potential to sustain their business. As Tesla has no relevant competition on the electric car industry imposes another limitation for this research, because the prices that this company practices cannot be compared with the competitors’ offers and like this there cannot be placed a valid assessment on whether the company is targeting the high end segment or whether the market requires these prices.
The studies regarding the environmental sustainability are very popular and their significance and density rapidly increase. The approach on environmental sustainability as the goal of Tesla’s products (electric cars and electric cars components) may account as a major argument for the company’s high prices, which only the rich people can pay, but nevertheless it does not represent sufficient comprehensive information for sustaining the high end positioning (because of the value set for the products). A more technical approach on the composition and functionality of electric cars is required, but as the literature on this domain is still new, this research encounters limitations in arguing with technical data why Tesla’s prices are so high and if/and how its products would be ever available to average and low income individuals.
Working Definitions
Global warming refers to the changes that appear in the Earth’s climate that affect the Earth’s wellbeing: its physical system (available freshwater and see level), chemical system (ocean pH) or biological system (biological adaptation of species), as a result of the increasing temperatures as Franchetti and Apul (9) note.
Carbon footprint is defined as the total amount of carbon dioxide and greenhouse gas that are emitted as a result if the consumption of fuels by an individual, a group, an organization, a nation, or at the global level, by the entire population as conceptualized by Solli (10).
Sustainability – “the design of human and industrial systems to ensure that humankind’s use of natural resources and cycles do not lead to diminished quality of life due to losses in future economic opportunities or to adverse impact on social conditions, human health and environment” (Franchetti & Apul 19).
Sustainable environment refers to harmonizing living with natural world and diminishing or eliminating the sources that might harm the environment (Franchetti & Apul 10).
Electric cars are vehicles that are powered by the electric energy instead of the conventional petrol and diesel as the other existent auto vehicles are. The electric cars are considered environmental sustainable, as it is believed that they do not generate pollution. Nevertheless, these cars take their electricity from the coal – fired power station, which makes the source of their sustainability arguable (Boxwell 29).
Down payment – represents a system payment that allow buyers to purchase expensive goods by initially paying an affordable portion of the good’s total cost, usually paid in cash at the time of finalizing the transaction (“Down Payment”, Dictionary.com).
Works Cited
Boxwell, Michael. The Electric Car Guide G-Wiz. Warwickshire: Greenstream Publishing. 2010. Print
Down Payment. Dictionary.com. Accessed on 9 June 2013, retrieved from http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/down%20payment. N.d. Web.
Franchetti, Mathew, John. & Apul, Defne, S. Carbon Footprint Analysis: Concepts, Methods, Implementation and Case Studies. Florida: Taylor & Francis Group. 2013. Print.
Solli, Christian. Global Carbon Footprints. Copenhagen: Nordic Council of Ministers. 2010. Print.
