Elon Musk working on ‘top-secret Tesla master plan’

11 Jul 2016

Tesla CEO Elon Musk, via YouTube

Elon Musk has said he’s soon to reveal his latest project, with his ‘top secret Tesla master plan part 2’ coming later this week.

Amid a particularly tricky time for his electric car company Tesla, Elon Musk’s latest announcement comes as a bit of a surprise.

At the start of July, the company confirmed the first death of a person in a Tesla with ‘autopilot mode’ turned on. It has brought a new spotlight onto the company as the motor industry itself continues down a path of upheaval.

Now, along with a series of tweets about what autopilot really means, Musk has suggested some big news is just around the corner.

Last month, it emerged that Tesla was looking to buy SolarCity, a manufacturer of solar panels that was also created by Elon Musk.

The $2.8bn deal is a “no-brainer”, according to Musk, who wants to turn Tesla into a fully vertically-integrated energy company with end-to-end clean-energy products.

While Tesla is seen primarily as a carmaker, last year the company revealed Tesla Energy as part of Musk’s “extreme scale” vision to change energy consumption forever.

The upcoming masterplan reveal will, one would assume, relate to this deal.

In March, details of Tesla’s Model 3 were revealed, with orders of the $35,000 vehicle hitting nearly 250,000 in just one day.

This interest was staggering, especially given the fact that $1,000 worth of a down payment was required by all those ordering the car. And the fact that it’s unlikely to get to customers before the end of 2017.

The Model 3, with no add-ons, will do 0-60mph in less than six seconds, with faster versions for those willing to pay a little bit more. There’ll be a 215-mile range, which, given the four superchargers planned for Ireland, will be a bit of a stretch.

Gordon Hunt was a journalist with Silicon Republic

editorial@siliconrepublic.com