Elon Musk Reveals Latest Tesla ‘Master Plan Part 2’

However, there’s more to Musk’s master plan than development of mass-market electric cars.

However, Musk didn’t unveil any financial info or specific timelines.

Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk has unveiled the second part of his self-titled masterplan, focusing on autonomous driving and ride sharing. For this, Tesla will ply their own fleet of vehicles.

Commercial trucks, buses, a “future compact SUV” and a “new kind of pickup truck” will be added to Tesla’s fleet of electric cars.

It’s also considered essential for most autonomous cars by many companies that are developing them, although Musk has a different opinion.

This shows a potentially new relationship forming between Uber and Tesla.

But NHTSA apparently is nearly as big a fan of autonomous systems as Elon Musk is. Expand the electric vehicle product line to address all major segments. Tesla’s focus on self-driving (10x safer than human) and shared cars is not surprising or unique to Tesla. The money made from that would be used to create a medium- volume auto at a lower cost; then creating a high-volume vehicle at an even lower cost.

“As is typical, Elon Musk has laid out a grandiose plan for the future with no time frames and few specifics, and no mention of how and when Tesla will be profitable”, Michelle Krebs, an analyst for Autotrader.com, said in an e-mail.

Rival automakers are pursuing some of these goals as well.

“In cities where demand exceeds the supply of customer-owned cars, Tesla will operate its own fleet, ensuring you can always hail a ride from us no matter where you are”. He posted the company’s new plan on Tesla’s blog and simply calls it Part Deux (French for Part Two).

Some surmised the timing of the announcement was a way for Musk to distract from recent headlines that have raised concerns about Tesla’s autopilot function and its troubles hitting vehicle-delivery targets. Automakers can add what they call an advanced driver-assistance system, such as Autopilot’s lane-keeping, as long as the technology meets broad federal safety requirements.

Musk did not say when fully autonomous Teslas would be ready, but indicated it could require roughly five years of additional testing.

The accident occurred after more than 130 million miles of safe autopilot driving, compared to the rate of one fatality per 89 million miles for manual driving, making it around 1.5 times as safe.

Tesla would also be playing catch up with established players in the heavy truck market such as Daimler AG and PACCAR Inc. Currently, features such as Tesla’s Autopilot let a vehicle maintain its place in a lane and distance from traffic ahead. He outlined a combined company that could provide consumers with the tools for a largely carbon-free lifestyle – electric cars recharged with electricity generated by SolarCity solar panel systems, or stored in the home using battery packs produced by Tesla’s battery Gigafactory under construction near Reno, Nev.

The acquisition of SolarCity (see story) marked the completion of part one, which also included the creation and distribution of three vehicles, culminating with an affordable, high-volume auto, the Model 3.

While Tesla’s stock dropped on July 21, the morning after Mr. Musk announced his plans, the fall was less dramatic than last month’s, which the brand quickly recouped.