Tesla announced Tesla Master Plan 4 at X on September 1, emphasizing “sustainable abundance” through artificial intelligence, robotics (Optimus), and autonomy. The document is ambitious, but without clear milestones. Reactions are divided: supporters celebrate the “physical arrival of AI,” skeptics recall unfinished goals from the past and declining vehicle sales.
Tesla has Tesla Master Plan 4 officially moved from the world of “sustainable energy” to the world of “sustainable abundance.” The new story promises AI, which will inhabit the physical world, a humanoid robot called Optimus, who will take over monotonous and dangerous jobs, and autonomy that will “give everyone back time.” Published on X, the manifesto reads like an inspired brochure for the company of the future, with hardly any mention of dates, KPIs, or budgets. It’s both appealing and risky—especially for a company that has been under scrutiny for the past two years for falling sales and broken promises.
— Tesla (@Tesla) September 1, 2025
What Tesla actually announced
The core of the document: “bring AI into the physical world”, “unify hardware and software on a large scale” and thereby create a “cleaner, safer, more enjoyable world”. There are principles in between (“Growth is infinite”, “Innovation removes limitations”, “Autonomy must benefit humanity”), but practically nothing about when what comes, where the pilot begins and how much will cost. This tone – more of a vision than a plan – matches the screenshots and transcript circulating on X and in the media.
History returns: MP2 and MP3 are not yet “checkmarks”
Musk admitted on X a few days ago that Master Plan Part Two (from 2016) is not yet complete and that it will happen “next year” – almost a decade after its announcement. MP2 announced full autonomy and car sharing; the robo-taxis service that Musk promised is only in a modest form and with a lot of human assistance.
Master Plan Part 3 (2023) was a “Planetary Energy Plan” – lots of physics, few product deadlines. Meanwhile, Tesla last year saw its first annual deliveries decline (–1.1 % vs. 2023), and this year the downward trend continues, especially in Europe. The “20 million vehicles per year by 2030” goal has also disappeared from the reports. This is a context that MP4 cannot ignore.
Not to mention the bad news: Tesla’s energy business is on pace for 2025, with the company deploying 9.6 GWh of energy storage in Q2. This shows that “Tesla as infrastructure” is making progress, even if “Tesla as an automotive business” is limping along.
Optimus: from “the greatest product in history” to serving popcorn
Optimus is the star of Tesla Master Plan 4. In practice, we saw him serve popcorn at the opening of Tesla’s Hollywood diner – for a few hours. Then, according to staff, he was “off” for weeks. Several videos and reports suggest that Tesla’s public demos (still) rely heavily on teleoperation or staged loops. Tesla is reportedly shifting to “vision-only” training in the meantime, moving away from VR teleoperation and motion-capture suits. This is industry standard procedure – but not yet proof of autonomous maturity.
There are also reports circulating about a redesign of the Generation 3 and a production pause due to technical challenges, although the source is not official and should therefore be taken with caution. At the same time, Musk remains optimistic: internal use "in small quantities" 2025, wider 2026 - the numbers are changing, the vision remains grand.
Robotaxi: Cybercab without a steering wheel – and without dates
Tesla revealed the concept back in October 2024 Cybercab (a two-seater without a steering wheel and pedals) and reiterated its ambition to make autonomous driving the main engine of future revenue. A test service is running in Austin with Model Y vehicles, with various forms of human control and remote assistance – an area where transparency is (even) worse than with the competition. Regulatory paths in California are only partially open; the company is collecting permits step by step.
Wired raised a key question in July: How exactly is teleoperation regulated (from “remote assist” to actual remote control) and when does it kick in? Until that is clear, the gap between “robotaxis in PowerPoint” and sidewalk service remains.
Responses: media, investors and fan camps
Favorable echoes (TeslaNorth, Drive Tesla Canada) celebrate “AI in the physical world” and “sustainable abundance” as the logical continuation of MP3. Skeptical camp (Electrek) calls the document a “mess of vague AI promises” – and reminds us that plan without deadlines, more of a vision. The Verge also sums up the crack: Tesla Master Plan 4 talks about “abundance,” but remains closer to a manifesto than a plan.
In the markets? The question of whether Tesla Master Plan 4 will lift the stock was already a hot topic in yesterday's discussions; the real impact will depend on whether Tesla shows repeatable demos without teleoperation in the coming months and receives key permits.
How does this compare to your record (Lambert/Electrek)
Lambert's gaze is sharp and direct: Tesla Master Plan 4 is said to be a “utopian” set of buzzwords and a smokescreen for the AI narrative while robots have yet to prove their usefulness. This criticism is based on two facts: (1) MP2 is not yet finished; (2) vehicle sales are falling (and this for the second year in a row). It’s hard to argue with that. Where Lambert may be too harsh is in writing off Tesla’s energy and manufacturing “muscle” – these are the rare points where Tesla still pulls (e.g. jumps in GWh of energy storage). In short: his text is a good counterbalance to the heavy PR tone of MP4, but the picture is more nuanced if we add energy and possible iterations of robots into the equation.
Broader context: humanoids aren't just Tesla this year
While Tesla is painting 2030+, others are already quietly piloting: Agility Robotics has commercially deployed the Digit humanoid in logistics, Figure AI is testing at BMW in the US and raising capital with big names. It's not proof that anyone has "won," but it's a reminder that the path to using humanoids is a long one. incremental, not instant.
Conclusion: Tesla Master Plan 4
Master Plan Part 4 is – honestly – more vision like plan. And visions have value if they are anchored in reality. Tesla's current reality is: sweeter results in energy, more bitter in cars, ambitious prototypes in robotics and autonomy, with visible seams of teleoperation. If Tesla shows in the next year measurable advances (humanless robot, robotaxi with predictable reliability, clear regulatory map), Tesla Master Plan 4 will gain traction. If not, it remains a manifesto about “abundance” – a beautiful poster that still needs to be printed on real paper. However, it is necessary to be aware that Musk ultimately fulfills everything. And that he recently surprised with Gork AI, which overtook all other models and joined the game for the best AI in record time. This is also why we can believe the “utopian” manifestos.
