Tesla's Master Plan: Pickups, Semis and Cars That Earn Money

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has revealed what we can expect from the American electric automaker in the future.

Musk is calling it the “Master Plan, Part Deux,” where he outlines what Tesla has planned for the coming years. The American automaker confirmed that an all-electric compact SUV is in the works as well as a “new kind” of pickup truck. In other words, Tesla wants to cover all major forms of ground travel, offering a model for every major segment. The plan also notes that it is unlikely Tesla will offer a car cheaper than the Model 3, which is expected to cost $35,000.

Musk wants to build a light-duty truck, but he isn’t stopping there. Tesla is also developing heavy-duty trucks and high passenger-density urban transport. He revealed that both are in the early stages of development at the automaker and they will be ready to be unveiled next year.

“We believe the Tesla Semi will deliver a substantial reduction in the cost of transport, while increasing safety and making it really fun to operate,” he said in the post.

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The plan also touched on Tesla’s plans for self-driving cars, and its a full offensive. Musk stands firm that the company is doing the right thing by rolling out partial autonomy now and expects that worldwide regulatory approval of self-driving vehicles will require around six-billion cumulative miles driven by self-driving vehicles. Current fleet learning garners about three-million miles per day.

Looking towards the future, Musk ultimately wants a Tesla vehicle to help its owner make money when it isn’t being used. Owners will have the ability to add their vehicles to the Tesla shared fleet via the Tesla phone app so that it can generate income while the owner is at work or on vacation.

On the subject of public transport, Tesla imagines a future of self-driving buses that can be summoned by pressing a button at a bus stop. Musk says that the buses would be able to fit more people in them than today’s standard sized buses and would accommodate wheelchairs, strollers and bikes.

Finally, the plan touches on Tesla’s plan to build and sell solar roofs that integrate with battery storage, to power homes and to presumably power the Tesla sitting in the driveway.

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