Elon Musk revealed the third part of Tesla’s “Master Plan,” in which the company will lead the global effort to eliminate fossil fuels and convert the world to sustainable energy. The plan was outlined during an investor event Wednesday held at the company’s Gigafactory in Austin, Texas.
Master Plan 3 includes adding renewable power to the existing grid, producing more electric vehicles, installing heat pumps in homes and buildings, using high-temperature heat delivery and hydrogen for industrial applications, and building sustainably fueled planes and boats. Musk’s plan is to create “a sustainable energy civilization.”
Tesla projects it will take $10 trillion in investments to bring about this sustainable future powered by renewable energy. Musk said it’s “not a big number relative to the global economy.”
Tesla projects it will take $10 trillion in investments to bring about this sustainable future powered by renewable energy
“There is a clear path to a sustainable energy on Earth,” Musk said. “It doesn’t require destroying natural habitats. It doesn’t require us to be austere and stop using electricity and sort of be in the cold or anything.”
A big part of achieving that vision involves expanding the world’s energy storage capacity by up to 240TWh. During the course of the event, Tesla executives said this can be accomplished without needing to mine a significant amount of ore. Musk claimed that it would only need less than 30 percent of all nickel in the Earth. It would also need iron, but Musk isn’t concerned, saying that it’s the most abundant metal on the planet.
Musk adds that the infrastructure needed for this, including wind and solar, will take “less than 0.2 percent” of the Earth’s surface. The details are still light on how all this is supposed to come to fruition, but Musk promised to release a white paper outlining the plan soon.
Musk adds that the infrastructure needed for this, including wind and solar, will take “less than 0.2 percent” of the Earth’s surface
“I really wanted today to be not just about Tesla investors who own stock, but really anyone who is an investor in Earth,” Musk said optimistically.
The nearly three-hour-long event didn’t include any specific information about new vehicles. The company did tease two mystery vehicles that remained under wraps in the presentation images — including one that is clearly a smaller car and the other that looks like a small commercial truck.
