Advertisement

Tesla Unveils Third 'Master Plan' Reaching for Sustainable Energy Economy

1
Sebastian Blanco
·3 min read
tesla model 3 and model y
Tesla New 'Master Plan' Focused on SustainabilityTesla

  • Tesla held an Investor Day event today in Austin, Texas, hosted by CEO Elon Musk.

  • Much of the talk was about the company's "Master Plan," which is now all about sustainability.

  • There's also talk of updates coming soon to the Model Y and Model 3.

"There is a clear path to a fully sustainable earth, with abundance."

That’s not the way most automotive company investor presentations start, but that was the early message from CEO Elon Musk during Tesla’s Investor Day presentation today in Austin, Texas.

The event was billed as the third in Musk’s long-term strategy outlines for the automaker, the next Tesla Master Plan. In short, the first TMP, from 2006, was about financing lower-cost EVs by first selling a more-expensive sports car (the original Tesla Roadster). The second, which followed a decade after the first, broadened Tesla’s scope to include solar roofs with battery storage, expanded the company’s product line to "address all major segments," developing safer self-driving capability that and finding a way to let Tesla owners "make money for you when you aren’t using it." Not all aspects of these plans have come to pass.

ADVERTISEMENT

Tesla's New Master Plan

Musk’s third Master Plan shifts its focus to the entire world. "Tesla’s purpose is to accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy," the company said today, calling its latest plan a "path to a fully renewable energy future for the earth."

Musk said a sustainable energy economy is within reach, but it will require incredible levels of investment—around $10 trillion—in new technologies to get there. That means 240 total tWh (terawatt hours) of energy storage (stationary batteries and electric vehicles) and 30 tW (terawatts) of renewable power generation. The benefits far outweigh the cost, Musk said, and the next two hours of the presentation beefed up this vision, including the many ways Tesla is working toward this goal—and, of course, how its own fleet of vehicles fit into this overall plan.