More than two months ago, Tesla announced its fourth “Master Plan.” This is a thin post about how the company wants to spread “sustainable wealth” through its future products. Unfortunately, the details are sparse, but that hasn’t stopped Tesla from making it the centerpiece of its bid to convince shareholders to hand CEO Elon Musk a $1 trillion compensation package at Thursday’s annual meeting.
If the vote passes, the world’s richest man will receive the largest payout in corporate history.
When “Plan” was released, its content was very vague, drawing criticism from some of the company’s biggest fans. Even Mr. Musk has criticized “[f]Tesla claimed to be adding “further details,” but acknowledged that the plan lacked details.
This post remains unchanged despite the fact that it is at the center of Tesla’s relentless campaign.
Musk has threatened to resign if the vote fails, insisting he is more interested in maintaining control of Tesla and the “robot army” he wants to build than money.
Master Plan 4 is in stark contrast to previous “Master Plans” announced by Tesla. Each of them contained specific goals and specific ideas, some of which were so lofty that Tesla has not yet been able to achieve them. The third master plan, released in 2023, focuses on building a sustainable energy economy and consists of a 41-page white paper.
Tesla and Musk did not respond to requests for comment.
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Musk teased the Fourth Master Plan in June 2024. At the time, Musk wrote that X was “working on Tesla Master Plan 4.” “It’s going to be epic.”
“Master Plan 3 is too complex for most people to understand,” he wrote in another post in August, adding that “Master Plan 4 will be concise.” Tesla announced this plan just a few days later.
Despite the inaccuracies, essentially all of the materials Tesla sent to shareholders regarding the vote touted the Fourth Master Plan as a reason to approve the compensation package. This is also highlighted in the brochure explaining to shareholders how to vote. Tesla’s third-quarter letter to shareholders praised this. It was mentioned in an interview with Robin Denholm, Chairman of the Board of Directors, and Franz von Holzhausen, Design Leader.
“A few days ago, Elon announced an exciting next chapter for Tesla with Part IV of a master plan focused on creating sustainable wealth for all,” Denholm and fellow board member Kathleen Wilson Thompson wrote in a September letter to shareholders, again without going into details. “We have been, and continue to be, a company that thinks bolder, acts faster, and strives for a better future. Master Plan Part IV builds on this by rethinking work, mobility, and energy, and bringing AI to the physical world through products and services such as FSD, Optimus, and Robotaxis.”
Mr. Denholm has been under a media onslaught to drum up support for a vote on the $1 trillion pay package, but he has not been asked to offer a clearer vision for Master Plan 4. Instead, she continues to focus on the milestones Musk needs to reach to unlock his entire $1 trillion pay package, almost all of which water down the outrageous promises Musk has made over the years.
Musk himself has not directly mentioned Master Plan 4 regarding X since his Sept. 2 post adding more specifics. He has spent much of the days leading up to the shareholder vote touting his compensation package, stoking fear about immigration and spreading misinformation about the New York mayoral race.
Someone first brought up the ambiguity of the plan during an interview von Holzhausen gave on the Ride the Lightning podcast in October.
“[M]”As a Tesla shareholder, a Tesla owner, a Tesla fan, and I’ve seen a lot of feedback in the Tesla community, my initial reaction to this was that it seemed a little lacking in detail compared to the previous master plan, which was pretty specific,” said host Ryan McCaffrey, who quickly pivoted to more positive questions for the chief designer.
“So why are you excited about Master Plan Part 4? And how is Tesla going to make this happen? That’s a big question,” McCaffrey asked.
“Of course we’re going to do it the Tesla way,” von Holzhausen said.
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