MobAI – Inspired by Tesla or Not?
MobAI won’t turn your company into a Tesla clone, but learning and understanding the method can help your organization achieve its critical goal of improving competitiveness.
In recent discussions, I’ve talked about Tesla’s operating model, MobAI, and Agile Hardware.
Often, the response I get is: "We’re not Tesla – we don’t have Tesla-level employees, we don’t disrupt markets like they do, and their way of working with 12-hour days doesn’t suit European standards anyway."
To me, this sounds similar to someone saying, "We don’t need to be agile because we’re not Amazon or Apple."
Right now, I see the business world facing a transformation similar to the early days of agility. Back then, companies like Google, Amazon, and Netflix emerged in the U.S. tech industry, quickly growing into major players. Today, these companies dominate their respective markets.
Elon Musk’s companies stand apart from traditional businesses in four key ways:
- A bold, mission-driven operating model.
- Rapid innovation.
- Cutting-edge technology utilization.
- A willingness to take risks.
These companies challenge conventional practices by placing long-term vision and global challenges at the core of their operations.
Looking closer, we see even more differences in how Musk’s companies operate:
- Software comes first (hardware is the platform).
- Extreme modularity (allowing for increased parallel workstreams).
- Advanced use of AI.
From a process perspective, I believe Musk’s companies are challenging current agile methods and frameworks.
It would be shortsighted not to explore which aspects of Musk’s processes could be adapted by more traditional companies. After all, software companies didn’t become clones of Apple or Netflix when they adopted agile practices. Instead, those that succeeded in the agile transformation, tailored agile methods to fit their own cultures and values.
At WikiAgile, we aim to bring awareness to Musk’s operating models through methods like MobAI. MobAI won’t turn your company into Tesla, but learning the method can help your business achieve its goal of improving competitiveness. After the workshop, it’s important to discuss how the method can be adapted to your organization while respecting your values and goals.
Would you like to learn what leveraging MobAI could mean for your company? Get in touch – we’re happy to share more!
