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Tesla investors should already be familiar with CEO Elon Musk's original "secret master plan,"
first published in 2006.
In it, Musk explained that electric cars were just a temporary business plan. These vehicles, starting with a pricey roadster and then expanding to lower-cost but higher-volume productions, would simply raise capital and generally pave the way toward a larger ambition:
[The] overarching purpose of Tesla Motors (and the reason I am funding the company) is to help expedite the move from a mine-and-burn hydrocarbon economy toward a solar electric economy, which I believe to be the primary, but not exclusive, sustainable solution.
So, in short, the master plan is:
Build sports car
Use that money to build an affordable car
Use that money to build an even more affordable car
While doing above, also provide zero emission electric power generation options
So, if you thought Tesla's long-term aim was to beat Toyota Motors (NYSE:TM)and Ford (NYSE:F) at their own vehicular production game, you're missing the point. Tesla only wants to sell enough cars to be able to finance the next stage of a global energy makeover.
The cars had to be excellent, in order to encourage the likes of Ford and Toyota to follow suit into a gas-less transportation model.
But dominating the car market was never the end game, here.
The new plan
A decade later, Musk revisited the old not-very-secret plan and
sketched out the second stage.
"The point of all this was, and remains, accelerating the advent of sustainable energy, so that we can imagine far into the future and life is still good," Musk wrote. "That's what 'sustainable' means. It's not some silly, hippy thing -- it matters for everyone."
The first stage was described as close to completion. The last step of stage one would presumably be the launch of the reasonably affordable Tesla Model 3 in 2017. That's the high-volume passenger car that will carry the rest of Tesla's electric ambitions -- arguably to the end of the line. To wit:
"A lower cost vehicle than the Model 3 is unlikely to be necessary, because of the third part of the plan described below."
Sticking with Elon's presentation format, here's Tesla's "master plan, part
deux " in a nutshell:
Create stunning solar roofs with seamlessly integrated battery storage
Tesla investors should already be familiar with CEO Elon Musk's original "secret master plan,"
first published in 2006.
In it, Musk explained that electric cars were just a temporary business plan. These vehicles, starting with a pricey roadster and then expanding to lower-cost but higher-volume productions, would simply raise capital and generally pave the way toward a larger ambition:
[The] overarching purpose of Tesla Motors (and the reason I am funding the company) is to help expedite the move from a mine-and-burn hydrocarbon economy toward a solar electric economy, which I believe to be the primary, but not exclusive, sustainable solution.
So, in short, the master plan is:
Build sports car
Use that money to build an affordable car
Use that money to build an even more affordable car
While doing above, also provide zero emission electric power generation options
So, if you thought Tesla's long-term aim was to beat
Toyota Motors (
NYSE:TM)and
Ford (
NYSE:F) at their own vehicular production game, you're missing the point. Tesla only wants to sell enough cars to be able to finance the next stage of a global energy makeover.
The cars had to be excellent, in order to encourage the likes of Ford and Toyota to follow suit into a gas-less transportation model. But dominating the car market was never the end game, here.
The new plan
A decade later, Musk revisited the old not-very-secret plan and
sketched out the second stage.
"The point of all this was, and remains, accelerating the advent of sustainable energy, so that we can imagine far into the future and life is still good," Musk wrote. "That's what 'sustainable' means. It's not some silly, hippy thing -- it matters for everyone."
The first stage was described as close to completion. The last step of stage one would presumably be the launch of the reasonably affordable Tesla Model 3 in 2017. That's the high-volume passenger car that will carry the rest of Tesla's electric ambitions -- arguably to the end of the line. To wit:
"A lower cost vehicle than the Model 3 is unlikely to be necessary, because of the third part of the plan described below."
Sticking with Elon's presentation format, here's Tesla's "master plan, part
deux " in a nutshell:
Create stunning solar roofs with seamlessly integrated battery storage
Expand the electric vehicle product line to address all major segments
Develop a self-driving capability that is 10X safer than manual via massive fleet learning
Enable your car to make money for you when you aren't using it
There's nothing in there about developing even cheaper passenger cars under the Tesla brand. Instead, Musk wants to extend his electric transportation designs to new markets such as buses and heavy-duty trucks. Both are already in development, and Tesla should present its first efforts in 2017.
Expand the electric vehicle product line to address all major segments
Develop a self-driving capability that is 10X safer than manual via massive fleet learning
Enable your car to make money for you when you aren't using it
There's nothing in there about developing even cheaper passenger cars under the Tesla brand. Instead, Musk wants to extend his electric transportation designs to new markets such as buses and heavy-duty trucks. Both are already in development, and Tesla should present its first efforts in 2017.
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