Source: The Secret Tesla Motors Master Plan (2006)

• Author: Elon Musk (Co-Founder & CEO)
• Published: 2006-08-02, on Tesla’s website (“just between you and me”)
• Trust tier: verified (Tier 1) — official Tesla text
• Original: tesla.com/secret-master-plan

Summary

The first master plan is the founding statement of Tesla’s purpose, written by Elon Musk when the company had only a prototype sports car. It is the clearest early evidence of the mental model that defines his career: a long-horizon, publicly-declared plan whose explicit endpoint (mass-market sustainable transport) is set years before the means exist to reach it. The document also lays out the “start expensive, drive down market” sequencing and frames the entire enterprise around a single mission — accelerating the move away from fossil fuels — rather than around the car itself. The famous closing reframe (“The magic words are leverage and sustainability”) captures how Musk subordinates the product to the mission.

The plan is short and reads as a personal manifesto. What it reveals about Musk’s mind matters more than its product specifics: he reasons backward from a civilizational goal, treats the first luxury product as a deliberate stepping-stone rather than the destination, and commits the plan to writing so it can be held to account.

Key quotes

The stated purpose — climate, reframed as Musk corrects himself in real time on the page:

“The overarching purpose of Tesla Motors is to help expedite the move from a mine-and-burn hydrocarbon economy towards a solar electric economy, which I believe to be the primary, but not exclusive, sustainable solution.” 🔗

“The goal of Tesla is to prevent a climate crisis.” 🔗

The down-market strategy — the sequencing logic that becomes his signature:

“The strategy of Tesla is to enter at the high end of the market, where customers are prepared to pay a premium, and then drive down market as fast as possible to higher unit volume and lower prices with each successive model.” 🔗

The first product reframed as a strategic asset, not a vanity object:

“Tesla’s first product is a high performance electric sports car, called the Roadster. This is not a shortcoming, but a strategic asset.” 🔗

How the early money funds the mission — the “leverage” idea, stated plainly:

“The financing of the first two models is provided by customers and from investors, but the capital from the first two models is designed to be leveraged to finance the third model, which will be a true mass-market vehicle.” 🔗

The four-line summary of the whole enterprise:

"- Make super efficient electric car

• Don’t shock customers with change
• Sell a wide range of EVs
• Leverage products and experience to make affordable cars for masses" 🔗

The closing reframe — product subordinated to mission:

“The magic words are leverage and sustainability.” 🔗

A built-in expectation of revision — the plan is a living document, not a prophecy:

“This plan is subject to continued refinement and revision.” 🔗

Connections (pages touched)

• Elon Musk — the author; this is his earliest formal statement of strategy.
• Tesla — founding purpose and product roadmap.
• The "Secret Master Plan" Method — the long-horizon, publicly-committed planning method this document inaugurates.
• The Sustainable-Energy Mission (and Mission Over Profit) — the driving purpose framed here as preventing a climate crisis, and the “leverage and sustainability” subordination of product to mission.
• Start Expensive, Drive Down Market (Leverage) — the explicit “enter high, drive down market” sequencing.

See also

• Source: Master Plan, Part Deux (2016) — the 2016 sequel that reports the plan “on track” and widens it to energy and autonomy.
• Source: Master Plan Part 3 — Sustainable Energy for All of Earth (2023) — the 2023 whole-planet energy model.
• Source: Tesla Master Plan Part IV (2025) — the 2025 reframe toward AI, autonomy and “sustainable abundance.”