Tesla (TSLA.US) unveils "Master Plan 4.0" and announces strategic focus shift! Musk: About 80% of the company's future value will come from Optimus

According to Jinse Finance, Tesla (TSLA.US) CEO Elon Musk is downplaying the importance of the company’s automotive business in an unprecedented way, instead shifting focus to humanoid robots that are still under development and some time away from generating revenue.

On September 2, Tesla released its “Master Plan Part IV” on its official social media account. According to the introduction of Master Plan 4.0, Tesla has spent nearly the past two decades relentlessly accumulating technology through the development of electric vehicles, energy products, and bionic robots. As the influence of artificial intelligence technology continues to grow, the “next chapter” of the Tesla story will be “creating products and services that integrate artificial intelligence into the real world,” which will create a “sustainable and prosperous future.”

Regarding how to achieve Master Plan 4.0, Musk stated on social media that autonomous driving and the Optimus robot will be the company’s most important priorities, and that in the future, about 80% of Tesla’s value will come from the Optimus robot.

This release of Master Plan 4.0 by Tesla marks a strategic shift. The three previous master plans released in 2006, 2016, and 2023 all focused on electric vehicles and energy. Some analysts have pointed out that the release of Master Plan 4.0 signifies that Tesla’s development focus is shifting comprehensively from electric vehicles and energy to artificial intelligence and robotics, aiming to achieve greater growth through technologies such as autonomous driving and humanoid robots.

Musk himself recently admitted that Tesla has not yet executed the Master Plan 2.0 released in 2016, which proposed bringing electric semi-trucks and electric buses to market, developing autonomous driving features, and launching a driverless car service. Musk also criticized the Master Plan 3.0 released by Tesla in 2023, saying it was “so complicated that almost no one can understand it.”

Nevertheless, Tesla has indeed delivered on Musk’s promise of being “more concise”—the latest master plan is less than 1,000 words—but it also lacks details. Musk has also been vague about the progress of commercializing the Optimus robot. In January of this year, he said his “very rough guess” was that Tesla might be ready to deliver the Optimus robot to other companies in the second half of 2026.

However, as Tesla shifts its development focus from electric vehicles and energy to artificial intelligence and robotics, the reality the company faces is that its electric vehicle sales have been declining for several consecutive periods in multiple markets.

According to data from the China Passenger Car Association, Tesla’s wholesale sales in China in August were 83,192 units, a month-on-month increase of 22.6%, but a year-on-year decrease of 4%, due to competitors launching lower-priced models and intensifying market competition.

In the United States, data also show that in the second quarter of this year, Tesla’s electric vehicle registrations in California fell by 21.1%, marking the seventh consecutive quarter of decline. As the largest electric vehicle market in the U.S., California accounted for more than 30% of the nation’s zero-emission vehicle registrations last year, making it crucial to Tesla’s sales performance in the U.S. According to media calculations, California accounts for nearly one-third of Tesla’s U.S. sales.

In addition, Tesla’s weak sales performance in some European markets has continued for the eighth consecutive month. Data released Monday by Swedish automotive industry data agency Mobility Sweden showed that in August, Tesla’s car registrations in Sweden plummeted 84% year-on-year, dropping from 1,348 units in the same period last year to 210 units. Data released Monday from France showed that the number of newly registered Tesla vehicles in August fell by 47.3% compared to the same period in 2024, while the overall French car market grew by nearly 2.2% during the same period.