Tesla's "Grand Plan 4.0" announces a shift in strategic focus! Musk: About 80% of the company's future value will come from Optimus

According to the Zhitong Finance APP, Tesla (TSLA.US) CEO Elon Musk is downplaying the importance of the company's automotive business in an unprecedented way, instead turning to the humanoid robot that is still in development and some time away from generating revenue.

On September 2, Tesla released the "Master Plan Part IV" on its official social media account. According to the introduction of Master Plan 4.0, Tesla has been accumulating technology over the past nearly twenty years through the development of electric vehicles, energy products, and bionic robots. With the increasing influence of artificial intelligence technology, the "next chapter" of Tesla's story will be "to create 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 about 80% of Tesla's future value will come from the Optimus robot.

The release of Master Plan 4.0 signifies a strategic shift for Tesla. The three previous master plans released in 2006, 2016, and 2023 were all related to electric vehicles and energy. Analysts point out that the release of Master Plan 4.0 marks a complete shift in Tesla's development focus from electric vehicles and energy to the fields of artificial intelligence and robotics, aiming for 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 to bring electric semi-trucks and electric buses to market, develop autonomous driving features, and launch self-driving car services. Musk also criticized the Master Plan 3.0 released by Tesla in 2023, calling it "so complex that almost no one can understand it."

Nevertheless, Tesla has indeed fulfilled Musk's promise of being "more concise"—the latest master plan is less than 1,000 words—but it also lacks details. Musk has been vague about the progress of commercializing the Optimus robot. He stated earlier this year that his "very rough guess" is 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 in multiple markets.

Data from the China Passenger Car Association shows that Tesla's wholesale sales in China in August were 83,192 vehicles, a month-on-month increase of 22.6%, but a year-on-year decrease of 4%, due to competitors launching lower-priced models, intensifying market competition.

In the United States, data also shows 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 over 30% of the nation's zero-emission vehicle registrations last year, which is crucial for Tesla's sales performance in the U.S. According to media calculations, California accounts for nearly one-third of Tesla's sales in the U.S In addition, Tesla's weak sales performance in some European markets has continued for the eighth month. Data released on Monday by the Swedish automotive industry data agency Mobility Sweden showed that Tesla's car registrations in Sweden plummeted 84% year-on-year in August, dropping from 1,348 vehicles in the same period last year to 210 vehicles. Data released on Monday from France indicated that the number of new Tesla car registrations in August decreased by 47.3% compared to the same period in 2024, while the overall automotive market in France grew by nearly 2.2% during the same period