Tesla 2011 Annual Report Download - page 58

Table of Contents
offer similar benefits to other companies that we would like to establish and maintain strategic relationships with which could impair our ability
to establish such relationships. Moreover, identifying such opportunities could demand substantial management time and resources, and
negotiating and financing relationships involves significant costs and uncertainties. If we are unable to successfully source and execute on
strategic relationship opportunities in the future, our overall growth could be impaired, and our business, prospects and operating results could be
materially adversely affected.
If we fail to manage future growth effectively, we may not be able to market and sell our vehicles successfully.
Any failure to manage our growth effectively could materially and adversely affect our business, prospects, operating results and financial
condition. We have recently expanded our operations significantly, increasing our total number of employees from 268 as of December 31, 2007
to 899 as of December 31, 2010 and further significant expansion will be required, especially in connection with the planned establishment of
our Model S manufacturing facility, our electric powertrain manufacturing facility, the expansion of our network of Tesla stores and service
centers, our mobile Tesla Rangers program and requirements of being a public company. Our future operating results depend to a large extent on
our ability to manage this expansion and growth successfully. Risks that we face in undertaking this expansion include:
We intend to continue to hire a significant number of additional personnel, including design and manufacturing personnel and service
technicians for our performance electric vehicles. Because our high-performance vehicles are based on a different technology platform than
traditional internal combustion engines, individuals with sufficient training in performance electric vehicles may not be available to hire, and we
will need to expend significant time and expense training the employees we do hire. Competition for individuals with experience designing,
manufacturing and servicing electric vehicles is intense, and we may not be able to attract, assimilate, train or retain additional highly qualified
personnel in the future. The failure to attract, integrate, train, motivate and retain these additional employees could seriously harm our business
and prospects.
If we are unable to attract and retain key employees and hire qualified management, technical and vehicle engineering personnel, our
ability to compete could be harmed.
The loss of the services of any of our key employees could disrupt our operations, delay the development and introduction of our vehicles
and services, and negatively impact our business, prospects and operating results. In particular, we are highly dependent on the services of Elon
Musk, our Chief Executive Officer, Product Architect and Chairman of our Board of Directors, and JB Straubel, our Chief Technical Officer.
None of our key employees is bound by an employment agreement for any specific term. There can be no assurance that we will be able to
successfully attract and retain senior leadership necessary to grow our business. Our future success depends upon our ability to attract and retain
our executive officers and other key technology, sales, marketing and support personnel and any failure to do so could adversely impact our
business, prospects, financial condition and operating results. We have in the past and may in the future experience difficulty in retaining
members of our senior management team. In addition, we do not have “key person” life insurance
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training new personnel;
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forecasting production and revenue;
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controlling expenses and investments in anticipation of expanded operations;
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establishing or expanding design, manufacturing, sales and service facilities;
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implementing and enhancing administrative infrastructure, systems and processes;
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addressing new markets; and
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expanding international operations.