Musk Wiki

Source: Tesla Master Plan (2006)

NextSource: Tesla Master Plan Part 2 (2016)
  • Author: Elon Musk (Co-Founder & CEO)
  • Published: 2006-08-02, on Tesla’s website (“just between you and me”)
  • Trust tier: verified (Tier 1) — official Tesla text
  • Original: tesla.com/secret-master-plan
  • Quotes: from the document itself, on Tesla’s website.

Summary

In August 2006 Elon Musk posted Tesla’s whole strategy online while the company had only a prototype sports car. That gap says a lot. It is the clearest early evidence of the habit that defines his career: a long-horizon, publicly-declared plan that names its endpoint (mass-market sustainable transport) years before Tesla has the means to reach it. The plan also sets out the “start expensive, drive down market” sequencing that becomes his signature. And it puts the mission ahead of the car: the company exists to speed the move off fossil fuels, not to sell a fast roadster. The closing line says so outright (“The magic words are leverage and sustainability”), folding the product back into the mission.

It is short, and it reads like a personal manifesto. What it shows about how Musk thinks matters more than the product specs. He works backward from a civilizational goal, treats the first luxury car as a deliberate stepping-stone rather than the destination, and writes the plan down so he can later be held to it.

Key quotes

The stated purpose — climate, reframed as Musk corrects himself in real time on the page:

“The overarching purpose of Tesla Motors is to help expedite the move from a mine-and-burn hydrocarbon economy towards a solar electric economy, which I believe to be the primary, but not exclusive, sustainable solution.” ↗

“The goal of Tesla is to prevent a climate crisis.” ↗

The down-market strategy — the sequencing logic that becomes his signature:

“The strategy of Tesla is to enter at the high end of the market, where customers are prepared to pay a premium, and then drive down market as fast as possible to higher unit volume and lower prices with each successive model.” ↗

The first product reframed as a strategic asset, not a vanity object:

“Tesla’s first product is a high performance electric sports car, called the Roadster. This is not a shortcoming, but a strategic asset.” ↗

How the early money funds the mission — the “leverage” idea, stated plainly:

“The financing of the first two models is provided by customers and from investors, but the capital from the first two models is designed to be leveraged to finance the third model, which will be a true mass-market vehicle.” ↗

The four-line summary of the whole enterprise:

"- Make super efficient electric car

  • Don’t shock customers with change
  • Sell a wide range of EVs
  • Leverage products and experience to make affordable cars for masses" ↗

The closing reframe — product subordinated to mission:

“The magic words are leverage and sustainability.” ↗

A built-in expectation of revision — the plan is a living document, not a prophecy:

“This plan is subject to continued refinement and revision.” ↗

Connections (pages touched)

  • Elon Musk — the author; this is his earliest formal statement of strategy.
  • Tesla — founding purpose and product roadmap.
  • Secret Master Plan method — the long-horizon, publicly-committed planning method this document inaugurates.
  • Sustainable-energy mission — the driving purpose framed here as preventing a climate crisis, and the “leverage and sustainability” subordination of product to mission.
  • Down-market strategy — the explicit “enter high, drive down market” sequencing.

See also