A few days before the launch of electric carmaker Tesla’s first factory in Europe, CEO Elon Musk had tweeted that he had been “working on Master Plan Part 3”. Just a tweet, no details.
Musk is in Germany for the opening of the factory in Gruenheide, which lies 35 km from Berlin. This is the first Tesla factory in Europe that opens today. The $5-billion factory is set to produce over half a million electric vehicles per year.
In response to a tweet, Musk has now signalled that the plan would revolve around scaling up operations and artificial intelligence (AI).“Main Tesla subjects will be scaling to extreme size, which is needed to shift humanity away from fossil fuels, and AI,” Musk tweeted Monday, adding that the plan would also include sections about SpaceX, Tesla and The Boring Company.
Plan One and Deux
Musk’s tweet reveals that the next master plan may arrive a few years earlier than expected. The first master plan titled “The Secret Tesla Motors Master Plan (just between you and me)” was published in 2006 and outlined Tesla’s proof of concept. The original plan aimed at achieving four goals – build sports car, use money from sports cars to build an affordable car, use the proceeds to make an even more affordable car and in the process of achieving these goals, provide zero-emission electric power generation options.
Based on the plan, Tesla launched the $109,000 Roadster sports car in 2008 and the $60,000 Model S in 2012. In 2016, the company also purchased the Solar City home energy company.
The same year, Musk unveiled the Master Plan Part Deux, which aimed at creating solar roofs with integrated battery storage, expanding the electric vehicle product line and developing a safer self-driving capability.
Given that the first two plans came in 2006 and 2016, the next was expected around 2026.
What can the new plan have?
Although Musk did not elaborate on the Master Plan Part 3, he did say that the plan would feature sections about SpaceX and The Boring Company. This led to speculation that the new plan may include ideas of establishing a parent company for Musk’s primary ventures. Musk had earlier said a holding company for Tesla, SpaceX, Neuralink, and The Boring Company was a “good idea.” However, Musk’s mention of SpaceX and The Boring Company in the tweet may also indicate a future collaboration between the companies, Tech Crunch reported.
The master plan may also include Tesla’s strategy for scaling its manufacturing and supply chain.
Meanwhile, Tesla is also expanding capacity at the Gigafactory in Shanghai and there are talks of a potential expansion at the Fremont factory as well. The move indicates Tesla’s plan of ramping things up in a very big way.
