Abstract

Energy and transportation are topics of great importance to global sustainable development.  Tesla Motor Corporation is an electric vehicle company with the objective to “accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy” (Musk, 2016).  This thesis, a media discourse analysis, examines media texts concerning Tesla Motors to provide a better understanding of the company’s hitherto success in penetrating the automotive market.  Qualitative analyses of text were utilized to first define the discourse, then to describe how it has contributed to Tesla’s success.  A combination of word frequency analysis, textual analysis for positive modality, and analysis for principles of branding was utilized as method.  A sample set of 15 texts were analyzed to define the macro discourse, and one interview of Elon Musk analyzed closely to explicate how the textual content contributes to the company’s success. The results of a word frequency analysis suggest that Elon Musk’s personal narrative represents the discourse surrounding Tesla Motors and that it contributes to the company’s success via being imbued with authoritybuilding, trust building, and branding content.