Let’s start with the first two for the new Master Plan

Anatomy of the FIRST HIGH-DENSITY URBAN TRANSPORT MAIN PRODUCTION MANUFACTURING MULTIPLE COLLABORATION

Andrew said all of this is true. The biggest mistake of the Master Plan Part Deux is that it didn’t build our hopes up for high passenger density urban transport. It’s rude! Musk didn’t have to be specific. He stated that both a bus and a semi truck would be ready to be revealed by next year. Musk has been very open about his dislike of public transportation. His biographer stated that he was the one who proposed the idea of the hyperloop as a way of getting California legislators to cancel the high-speed rail plan. The guy does not like trains.

Umar: Well Andy, I think the first Master Plan is a success story. The goals were laid out just as the company moved from selling a $100,000-plus sports car to a more practical family sedan.

The $35,000 car promised by the Model 3 was not enough to meet the goal of making a truly affordable car. The initial models were $52,000-plus and a promise of cheaper models to follow. A $35,000 Model 3 would eventually become available but only for a few months and for special order (plus they did some weird interior strippage in an attempt to make it cheaper). But I’m sure it cost more due to economies of scale on a low-volume trim.

Master Plan Part 2: Tesla, SolarCity, and Cybertruck Investor Days (with Physicist David L. Musk)

It nearly bankrupted the company, and Musk arguably pushed his workforce to an extreme to get what he wanted. It worked, but the cost was pretty enormous, at least for the employees. And we see that in the lawsuits that have been filed against Tesla alleging horrible working conditions, including racism, gender discrimination, and a spate of on-the-job injuries.

I give Master Plan Part Deux a C-. Tesla is making cars people do want and has the charging network to back it up. The Cybertruck is not located. You need to pay attention to the road and know how to use autopilot if you want it to work. It is only a hat trick that full-Self Driving is capable of. Every car on the road today with older hardware won’t be a robot. There are solar roofs and power walls.

Additionally, for Master Plan part one: SolarCity and Tesla worked together and provided renewable energy options — all prior to the former being acquired. As we move on, you will get more into that.

Source: https://www.theverge.com/2023/3/1/23620222/tesla-elon-musk-master-plan-cybertruck-investor-day

The Second Master Plan, Part II, of Musk’s 1993 Movie “Hot Shots!,” by Umar Musk on the Tesla Solar Roof

Andrew: Moving on to the second Master Plan, or “Part Deux,” as Musk called it. The 1993 movieHot Shots! is assumed to be a reference. Part Deux. Some of the movie references that Musk likes are from the ’80s and ’90s. See: Ludicrous mode.)

Can you buy a Tesla solar roof today? Yes, you can. But the rollout has been extremely slow going, and solar products currently only account for less than 5 percent of Tesla’s revenues. In 2021 dozens of solar roof customers were shocked to see their prices went up as much as 100 percent. The company exited several major markets, cut down on installations, and scaled back its solar ambitions as a whole.

Umar: Oof, Andy. Well, I’m going to start with some Tesla wins. At this point in time it is not possible to buy a copy of the Roadster fromTesla. That is okay. Normally people would buy the segments of cars that the company needed to fulfill. The model S was a large family car but it had an option for rear-facing seats suitable for kids, as more families buy SUVs.

A Late Late Late Show? JOEL MCLAUGHLIN on a Scaled-back Solar Roof Division, Tesla Semi, and Cybertruck

Those doors are prone to failures. I was watching The Late Late Show with James Corden on Monday night, and it was my chance to chat with writer, comedian, actor, and activist, JOEL MCLAUGHLIN. He talked about how his Model X FWDs (sorry) were left open and crashed on the side of his garage — on two separate occasions! Those sorts of incidents aren’t unique, though. I test-drove a Model X and somehow, while parked, the wing tried to close without command and smacked my sister’s head until she moved.

Tesla did introduce two new vehicles since publishing its second Master Plan: the Tesla Semi and the Cybertruck. Tesla Semi deliveries began late last year, and the Cybertruck is still planned for this year — according to Tesla lead designer Franz von Holzhausen who was onstage at the event. Musk said mass production of the truck would start in the year 2000.

Musk’s tone was more optimistic. He said the switch would cost $10 trillion, less than the world will spend on fossil fuels over the same period. Fully $7 trillion of that would be for electric vehicles — the market Tesla revolutionized, and intends to dominate worldwide.

Umar: Yup, and instead Musk got infatuated with the idea of Teslas going down city street-level elevators and riding in underground tunnels dug by his Boring Company dozers. But even that idea was watered down — it’s now just Teslas rolling through really tight tunnels.

Andrew: So we’ve got an extremely scaled-back solar roof division, a mythical Cybertruck, a handful of semi trucks, no urban transport, no bus, a tunnel project that’s mostly smoke and mirrors… what’s left? Oh, right.

The Best EV Charging Network in the World with Superchargers of Tesla: Can FSD Eventually Lead to Fully Autonomous Driving?

Could FSD eventually lead to fully autonomous driving? Color me skeptical. Let’s not forget that the video released in 2016 showing a Tesla Model X driving on urban, suburban, and highway streets, stopping itself at a red light, and accelerating at a green light was staged. Tesla’s own director of Autopilot testified that the video was staged using 3D mapping on a predetermined route, a feature not available to consumers.

Podcaster, Cannonball Run participant, and rally driver Alex Roy once said that the only question you should ask about a self-driving car is “can I sleep in it?” If you can’t, it’s not self-driving. End of story. It has been speculated that a number of electric car owners have tried sleeping in their vehicles.

I can’t lie: Musk had me believing it in the first half. The success of the Master Plan part one boosted Musk’s confidence as people paid attention. He went too far with the ante. We have self-driving taxis on the road right now from Waymo and Cruise, but Tesla’s FSD as is — with only Tesla Vision cameras and no ultrasonic sensors — can’t really match their capabilities today.

I am giving some praise to the best EV charging network in the world with the Superchargers of Tesla. It’s the most reliable network, and you can drive almost anywhere with much less worry about whether you’ll be able to charge. And now that there are Superchargers with CCS combo “magic dock” ports popping up, Tesla is finally actually helping to accelerate sustainable personal transport.

Source: https://www.theverge.com/2023/3/1/23620222/tesla-elon-musk-master-plan-cybertruck-investor-day

What do the CEOs of the Space X Company (SCA) say about the Plan to expand the world’s energy storage capacity at the 240 TWh level?

Andrew: That’s a very generous grade. I would give Part Deux a D-. Too many failed promises, too much risk, the dangerous confluence of an active safety feature with full autonomy — these things are unavoidable. The goals of the second Master Plan are certainly noble and well-intentioned. They could have been achieved if things had been different.

There is nothing wrong with ambition. But when the follow-through has been so hit-or-miss, with more misses than hits, then those ambitions can curdle, and anything that comes after can just feel like hot air blowing in your face.

A big part of achieving that vision involves expanding the world’s energy storage capacity by up to 240TWh. Despite the fact that there is a significant amount of waste in the area, executives said that this can be accomplished without needing to mine large quantities of waste. Musk claimed that it would only need less than 30 percent of all nickel in the Earth. It would also need iron, but Musk isn’t concerned, saying that it’s the most abundant metal on the planet.

The event didn’t include any information about the new vehicles. The company did tease two mystery vehicles that remained under wraps in the presentation images — including one that is clearly a smaller car and the other that looks like a small commercial truck.

Also absent was any mention of Musk’s other companies, SpaceX and The Boring Company, despite Musk earlier implying that the third Master Plan would seek to connect his various ventures.

The Unboxed Process: A New Project to Build the Next Generation of Electric Vehicles and Drive the Future of Autonomous EVs

The next generation of vehicles will be built through a new process that was demonstrated by the company. The company calls it the “Unboxed Process,” which allows the vehicle to be built once in the assembly line and only paint the parts that need to be painted. The automaker also claims the next-gen drive unit won’t use any rare earth minerals.

Likewise, Musk’s promise that Tesla owners with FSD would be able to earn passive income by sending their vehicles to autonomously pick up passengers as a robotaxi service has failed to materialize. In recent months, Musk has suggested that Tesla would make a standalone robotaxi vehicle, casting doubt on his original proposal that Teslas on the road today could qualify for such a service.

Analysts were eager to see a new Tesla model — specifically, a much cheaper Tesla, one that could make the most popular electric vehicle brand in America accessible to a far broader swath of buyers.

Every major automaker now believes that zero-emissions vehicles are the industry’s future, and they are racing to catch up with Tesla. That makes it likely that Tesla’s share of EV sales will shrink, as more competition comes in. That was one reason for the company’s precipitous drop in share prices last year.

The new “master plan” extended beyond the auto sector to talk about decarbonizing the global electric grid as well as all industry, shipping and air travel, too.

Lots of researchers, analysts and nonprofit groups have charted out paths to combat climate change. Most emphasize that time is running out, and the scale of change required is daunting.

Teslas versus Apple: How consumers stay loyal to their brand and how they’re using it: From S&P Global Mobility to Automotive Loyalty Awards

A strategy to cut costs on Supercharging stations and a software update to adjust air suspension mid-drive were all bragged about by the company.

And Teslas remain popular with drivers. The company just won the top award for “Overall Loyalty” to a make in S&P Global Mobility’s Automotive Loyalty Awards. Roughly 50% of the time, returning car shoppers stick with their previous brand. Two-thirds of buyers return to the company.

Palomarez also notes that Tesla owners often install a Tesla charger at their home. That could be an added incentive to stick with the brand, instead of needing to swap out equipment or use an adapter every charge. He compared it to Apple’s proprietary chargers.

“If you have an iPhone and you have an iPad and you have a MacBook, you know, you’re going to get the Apple Watch …. the infrastructure is built there,” he says.