Elon Musk just revealed his future plans for Tesla, Neuralink, and SpaceX in the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC). Surprisingly, Musk's views on the future struck a chord with the Chinese organization in charge of internet security and regulation. Even so, the aim could have been to bring in young, talented Chinese engineers for his ambitious projects. We will discuss his future goals in this article.
In the essay, Musk discusses his short- and long-term goals for making Tesla the top manufacturer of electric cars, as well as his vision for SpaceX's contribution to establishing a livable human presence on Mars.
He also discusses his involvement with Neuralink, a company that creates implantable brain-machine interfaces that may one day enable the fusion of the human mind with artificial intelligence. Neuralink is also rumored to be the brains behind the upcoming Tesla Model Pi phone.
Even though a lot of what Musk says will probably materialize in the next years, it's always intriguing to see his thought process and get insight into his goals for both the near and long-term milestones. The essay is undoubtedly worth reading for any Tesla fan or investor.
Redefining Elon’s companies
Reiterating the goals of his three companies—SpaceX, Tesla, and Neuralink—Musk begins his essay.
Tesla, Neuralink, and SpaceX were all founded with the ultimate objective of improving human life and producing as much useful value for the world as they could. Tesla was established to hasten the global transition to sustainable energy, Neuralink was established for medical rehabilitation, and SpaceX was established to enable interstellar connections.
Tesla’s Transition to Sustainable Energy
Elon says that switching to renewable energy demands fulfilling three aspects:
1. Sustainable energy production: In the long term, solar energy will replace other energy sources as the primary fuel for civilization. Of course, supplementary energy sources such as wind, hydropower, geothermal, and nuclear power will also be beneficial.
2. Storage: Because renewable energy sources are inconsistent, we require several stationary battery banks. In order to guarantee a dependable and consistent power source, even when the sun isn't shining or the wind isn't blowing, it is imperative to be able to store energy produced by wind and solar power. As individuals go about their everyday lives, their experiences peaks and valleys should be mitigated by battery storage, instead of it causing them more problems.
3. Utilization: Complete electrification of all modes of transportation, including ships, aircraft, and autos.
Elon also discusses the major obstacles to achieving the aforementioned goals. While he firmly believes storage is the biggest challenge, he acknowledges that the electrification of autos has been the de facto direction for a majority of nations.
Our calculations show that the globe needs around 300 TWh of battery storage to make the switch to sustainable energy. The manufacture of lithium battery cells on a wide scale is the main obstacle to the advancement of renewable energy.
A sustainable energy economy is now being slowed down by a complicated process that extends from mining and element refinement to the manufacturing of battery cells and their eventual assembly into battery packs.
What can we learn from Elon’s essay?
We can try to understand some of the plans Tesla could be working on by unraveling the section above.
A) Tesla may enter the mining industry
To store more renewable energy, they seek to enhance their battery production capacity. According to Tesla, massive amounts of storage are required to make the switch to sustainable energy: 300 TWh
He believes the major obstacles to large-scale manufacturing are mining and element refinement.
It is not impossible to imagine Tesla entering the mining and refining industries given its reputation for integrating its supply chain. Tesla has experimented with the mining industry but hasn't yet made a substantial investment yet.
Cash is king in the world of business. Tesla has long had the reputation of being unprofitable and strapped for cash, but that has changed over the past two years. Compared to other big automakers, Tesla has proven to be a money-printing machine with superior profitability.
Additionally, the majority of its debt has already been repaid, meaning that the business has an excessive amount of cash on hand. People are asking what Tesla might do with its huge cash position, and Tesla has a fiduciary obligation to spend it wisely.
Expert investor Gary Black projects free cash flow to be $9.9 billion this year and $21 billion in 2023.
In fact, one potential is a capital-intensive industry like lithium mining.
B) They could have plans to electrify additional types of transportation, such as ships, and airplanes.
Given that airplanes and ships are among the worst pollutants, this would be a significant breakthrough in the battle against climate change. Additionally, Tesla would have a major competitive edge in this new industry thanks to its experience with batteries and electric motors.
Again, they do have the funds to pull that off, right?
Doing What Humans Do with Humanoid Robots
There hasn't been much information released about the humanoid robot since its plans were first revealed in 2021. Elon goes into more depth in his essay.
The Tesla Bot is roughly the same height and weight as an adult has the ability to lift and carry heavy objects, walks quickly in small steps, and has an interactive interface for human communication on its face. Tesla Bots are initially intended to take the place of humans in monotonous, dangerous, and repetitive tasks.
Their long-term goal is to provide services to millions of families, including cooking, lawn mowing, and geriatric care.
What to expect
There were some ambitious claims, but the most significant is his plan to launch the first While he made a number of bold statements, his intention to introduce the first humanoid robot prototype this year stands out.
Elon stated that this year, Tesla wants to introduce the first humanoid robot prototype while concentrating on enhancing its intelligence and finding a solution to the issue of mass manufacturing.
We would take this comment with a grain of salt because we are all used to "Elon-time," when his initiatives get delayed by many months to years.
He says he wants to service millions of homes, implying that the Tesla bot would be a huge company if it were to succeed. People may be able to purchase robots for their parents as birthday presents in less than ten years.
Neuralink: A Synergistic Approach to Artificial Intelligence
We are all familiar with Neuralink as the cutting-edge company that used monkey brainwaves to play pong.
The idea is to create a wearable gadget the size of a penny that can record and stimulate brain activity in the cerebral cortex. It will aid in regaining sensory or motor abilities in amputated limbs.
Additionally, achieving synergy with artificial intelligence is the long-term objective. This would be accomplished by directly integrating human brains with artificial intelligence.
With the help of this technology, humans could be able to effectively collaborate with AI, opening up new opportunities for interaction between people and the outside world.
Wrapping everything up
In his essay, Musk discusses some of his long-term goals for SpaceX and Tesla. This year, he intends to introduce a humanoid robot prototype and concentrate on enhancing its intelligence. His goal is to directly link human brains to artificial intelligence in order to develop symbiosis with it.
These are lofty objectives, but Elon Musk is the person most capable of achieving them. He has consistently shown that he is not hesitant to take chances or push the envelope, and we can only wait to see what he comes up with next.
