Did Tesla remove Elon Musk’s master plan from its website?

Did Tesla remove Elon Musk’s master plan from its website?

When Elon Musk’s “The Secret Master Plan of Tesla Motors (Just Between Us)” came out in August 2006, it was hailed as a “success story” that laid out Tesla’s goals of first building an electric sports car and then cheaper electric vehicles (EVs).

Now the master plan and its successor, “Master Plan Part 2” from July 2016, which added a technological boost with the goal of an autopilot mode that is safer than human driving, are nowhere to be found on Tesla’s website.

Meanwhile, Tesla’s 2023 Master Plan Part 3, a 41-page document — more compact and less colloquial — than the earlier versions, is still on the website. And Musk announced in June that he was working on a yet-to-be-released Tesla Master Plan 4.

The earliest blog post on the Tesla site dates back to 2019, capturing only a fraction of the company’s 20-year history.

The erasure of Musk’s original plans, first spotted by Forbes earlier this week, has led some to speculate that Tesla is erasing its own history or putting distance between itself and its early environmental goals, especially now that its CEO is publicly supporting presidential candidate Donald Trump.

Tesla dealership in Smithtown, New York. Photo credit: John Paraskevas/Newsday RM via Getty Images

Musk’s 2006 master plan stated that “the overarching goal of Tesla Motors (and the reason I fund the company)” was to accelerate the transition from a mining and combustion economy to a solar economy, calling the latter “the primary” solution to sustainability.

Related: Elon Musk pleads for Tesla in X-Livestream with Donald Trump

In a livestream interview with Donald Trump earlier this month, Musk took a more moderate stance on sustainability, but still stressed the importance of working toward a solar-electric economy.

“I think we just want to move on, and if I don’t know if we’re going to be largely sustainable 50 to 100 years from now, I think that’s probably going to be OK,” Musk said. “It’s not like the house is going to burn down right away.”

Trump said in his July speech at the Republican National Convention that he would not spend taxpayer money on “pointless new green scam ideas” and would “end the electric vehicle mandate on day one.” Trump also said last week that he might eliminate the tax credit for electric cars.

Tesla has received $2.8 billion in government subsidies since 2009 and currently advertises prices for its electric cars that automatically include a $7,500 federal tax credit. Therefore, Tesla’s $42,490 Model 3 is priced at $29,990 after the tax credit and estimated gas savings—or even lower when you factor in the federal tax credits.

Related: Elon Musk tells investors cheaper Tesla electric cars should arrive sooner than planned

In the livestream, Trump praised Musk and Tesla, saying: “They really make a great product, I have to say. I have to be honest with you. That doesn’t mean everyone should have an electric car.”

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