Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, is pushing the company vision forward by releasing the master plan 2.0. Why is this important for truck consumers, enthusiasts, and commercial truck operators? It’s because the plan includes electric pickup trucks, autonomous semi trucks and city buses.
Elon Musk states the following:
Today, Tesla addresses two relatively small segments of premium sedans and SUVs. With the Model 3, a future compact SUV and a new kind of pickup truck, we plan to address most of the consumer market.
The Model S and the Model X are currently available for purchase. These are the premium sedans and SUVs that Musk is referring to. The more affordable (starting at $35,000) Model 3 is still approximately two years away. However, the above statement almost casually lists a “compact SUV” and “new kind of pickup truck” as part of the plan.
Although, it is not explicitly stated, the second version of the “master plan” is time-bound to approximately 10 years. This was the time period for the first plan, which should culminate with the availability of the Model 3. So, the completion of the second plan should take us to 2026 – 2028. This plan will not come to fruition overnight. The master plan 2.0 also expands the scope of the Tesla company to “solar roofs”, energy storage, and vehicle sharing. Interestingly, the company website is changed from www.teslamotors.com to simply www.tesla.com.
It appears that Tesla intends to provide an interesting alternative to consumer pickup trucks. The plan does not elaborate on what is meant by a “new kind of pickup truck”. Will it be a Model X with a cargo bed? We will have to wait and see.
The plan also states:
In addition to consumer vehicles, there are two other types of electric vehicle needed: heavy-duty trucks and high passenger-density urban transport. Both are in the early stages of development at Tesla and should be ready for unveiling next year. We believe the Tesla Semi will deliver a substantial reduction in the cost of cargo transport, while increasing safety and making it really fun to operate.
It appears that Tesla plans to unveil a semi truck and city passenger bus concepts or prototypes in 2017. It is not clear whether the Tesla compact SUV and/or the pickup truck will come before or after 2017. This is an interesting development, considering that there is another company, Nikola, working on a electric semi truck concept called Nikola One. Will Tesla buy Nikola, use a similar design, or create something completely different? We don’t know at this time.
Tesla also has an entirely new vision for what a “city bus” can or should be.
With the advent of autonomy, it will probably make sense to shrink the size of buses and transition the role of bus driver to that of fleet manager. Traffic congestion would improve due to increased passenger areal density by eliminating the center aisle and putting seats where there are currently entryways, and matching acceleration and braking to other vehicles, thus avoiding the inertial impedance to smooth traffic flow of traditional heavy buses. It would also take people all the way to their destination. Fixed summon buttons at existing bus stops would serve those who don’t have a phone. Design accommodates wheelchairs, strollers and bikes.
This is a proposal for fresh and new design. This is not simply the matter of putting an electric motor/battery system into a bus design that exists today. The vehicle plan provides the most details on the passenger bus concept. It will be very interesting to see how this develops.
Here are just a few of Tesla Model X “party tricks”.
