Elon Musk tells Tesla staff a future of “sustainable abundance” is near

Tesla CEO Elon Musk held a livestreamed all-hands meeting with employees, broadcast on X, where he reiterated several key themes around automation, artificial intelligence, and the company’s long-term vision.

Musk framed the discussion around a future of “sustainable abundance,” suggesting that advances in AI and robotics could make it possible for people to obtain any product or service they want. “If there’s a good or service you want, you can just have it,” Musk said, forecasting a future enabled by Tesla’s work in AI, energy, and automation.

During the meeting, Musk said Tesla would achieve global regulatory approval for fully autonomous vehicles within five years. He noted that the necessary software update could be delivered over-the-air and would enable new capabilities overnight.

Referencing investor Cathie Wood of ARK Invest, Musk told employees to “hang onto your stock,” while reiterating that Tesla is making major investments in energy storage and battery supply chains. He cited the presence of Tesla’s Supercharger network and noted how Megapacks could enhance the existing energy grid without requiring additional power plants. He also predicted that more than 90% of Earth’s power would eventually come from solar panels paired with batteries.

Musk discussed a V4 Supercharger that could support charging speeds of up to 500 kW, though specific charging times were not provided. He claimed Tesla is producing what may be the most efficient battery cell in the world in terms of cost per kilowatt hour. He also highlighted Tesla’s involvement in cathode production and lithium refining, and said that if no other supplier handles anode production, Tesla may do that as well.

Tesla’s Shanghai factory has produced its three millionth vehicle, Musk added, and the company has built its first Optimus robot production line in Fremont, with a second planned for Austin. Tesla is also preparing for production of the CyberCab.

Musk detailed the use of AI for Full Self-Driving (FSD) training, noting that Tesla is soon to have 100,000 GPUs operational. He referred to ongoing development of the company’s Dojo AI training system, saying “Dojo 2” would be roughly ten times more powerful than the first version.

Musk said that all new Tesla vehicles are now equipped with Hardware 4 (AI4), which he described as a highly capable inference computer operating at low power. He invited engineers to join Tesla’s chip development team and noted that in-factory vehicle movements are now autonomously performed.

On FSD, Musk said that the system would eventually require no human intervention and be ten times safer than human drivers. He did not offer a timeline for these developments.

Regarding the Optimus humanoid robot, Musk said production would begin in the Bay Area and expand in Austin. He predicted production of 5,000 units in 2025, calling it the equivalent of “one Roman legion,” and projected that Tesla could produce “tens of millions” of robots per year in the future. He said Tesla employees would be the first to receive the Optimus robot.

Musk also fielded employee questions. When asked for investing advice, he said to invest in companies whose products continue to improve. On other ventures, he said he is “stretched pretty thin,” with 17 jobs, but expressed interest in developing a supersonic electric VTOL jet and referenced previous Hyperloop concepts.

Musk described a future collaboration between Tesla and The Boring Company and reiterated his interest in forming a company town in South Texas called Starbase, which is near SpaceX’s launch site. A local vote on Starbase is expected in May.

He encouraged employees to use his AI chatbot Grok for financial and medical advice, calling the unfiltered version “entertaining at a party.” He also said Tesla is in Phase 3 of its Master Plan, which he wants to expand to include the theme of “abundance for all.”