Tesla’s Fourth ‘Master Plan’ Appears to Be a Convoluted AI Invention

Tesla has unveiled its fourth “Master Plan,” outlining the company’s vision for worldwide integration of humanoid robots and sustainable energy solutions.

Nevertheless, the announcement notably lacks important details.

Even CEO Elon Musk recognized this deficiency. In one of his rare remarks about the plan since its Monday release—set against a backdrop of transphobia and immigration discourse—he admitted that the missing details are subject to criticism and assured that more information will be shared soon.

When this might happen remains unclear. Unlike prior master plans, this latest iteration feels ambiguous and generic, resembling an AI-generated blend of Musk’s talking points and ideas from the “Abundance bros.” (If it were produced by Grok, it would likely be among the most subdued outputs from that AI chatbot.)

The document is replete with statements that echo higher education language, such as: “The hallmark of meritocracy is creating opportunities that empower individuals to harness their skills to achieve their aspirations.”

What accounts for this vagueness? Perhaps because Tesla has yet to meet several objectives outlined in its second master plan from 2016 and the most recent one from 2023.

The second plan featured ambitious goals accompanied by specific targets. Musk mentioned that Tesla aimed to “develop a seamlessly integrated and appealing solar-roof-with-battery product that functions effectively” and to “roll it out globally.” While Tesla has a solar roof, it has faced multiple hurdles, undergoing several redesigns and failing to achieve significant market penetration in the U.S., let alone worldwide.

(Musk leveraged this segment of Master Plan 2 to justify Tesla’s controversial acquisition of SolarCity, a struggling company led by his cousins. Tesla spent years defending the acquisition legally and ultimately prevailed.)

Regarding vehicles, Musk promised in Plan 2 to launch a compact SUV, a semi truck, a pickup, and an electric bus. Tesla successfully introduced the Model Y, which has become highly popular. However, the Tesla Semi is still under development, the Cybertruck has not met its sales forecasts, and the company has yet to produce anything resembling a bus.

The last two components of the second Master Plan focused on making Tesla vehicles fully autonomous through software updates and allowing owners to include or exclude their cars from a larger, shared network. Neither objective has been realized.

As it stands, the company is testing a small, invite-only robotaxi service in Austin, Texas, but each vehicle has safety monitors in the front seat. Furthermore, Tesla has undergone numerous hardware revisions over the last nine years, which, according to Musk, likely means many cars currently on the road lack the technology for full autonomy. (Both the first and second Master Plans have been removed from Tesla’s website as part of a broader cleanup.)

Master Plan 3 aimed to use Tesla as a model for showcasing the feasibility of a sustainable economy. Once again, a grand vision! However, Tesla expanded upon specifics by publishing a 41-page white paper to bolster its claims. Yet, the company has fallen short on many outlined objectives. Meanwhile, Musk contributed $300 million to help elect a president actively opposing the transition to cleaner and cheaper sustainable energy.

In recent times, Musk has sought to redefine Tesla, frequently asserting that it is not merely an automaker but a player in AI and robotics. While there is some validity to this view, it doesn’t change the fact that the majority of the company’s revenue still stems from the challenging enterprise of producing and selling electric vehicles.

The belief that Tesla will succeed in pivoting to this new identity is a key driver of its stock price, making it beneficial for the company to emphasize this narrative. Thus, Master Plan 4 adopts an optimistic tone.

However, Tesla previously supported its ambitions with clear objectives and measurable benchmarks. Moreover, Musk had previously made an effort to validate the claims in these documents. He authored the first two plans and engaged in an extensive, four-hour discussion with other executives regarding the more standardized third version.

In this case, Tesla’s “Master Plan” was released on a federal holiday, while its CEO spent the day spreading fear about marginalized communities.