A Fourth Act for Tesla

Elon Musk recently unveiled Tesla’s fourth Master Plan on X. Musk has been releasing these plans, meant to serve as strategic roadmaps for the firm since 2006, when the first of these out- lined the company’s aim to build an electric sports car, then use the revenue generated to build succes- sively more affordable electric vehicles (EVs). The latest plan, which shifts Tesla’s focus towards what it calls ‘sustainable abundance’ by emphasising on AI and autonomous technology, has been criticised for its vagueness and lack of any timelines. But it does point towards an interesting direction the company sees itself taking.

Tesla, as is evident from this plan, now views itself not just as an automaker, but also an AI firm. The plan shifts the company towards AI-powered products like its Optimus humanoid robots.

Not all of this is entirely surprising. Musk xAI does compete in the global race to develop generative AI tools, and many of his earlier plans, outlined in previous Master Plans, such as Cybertrucks or his solar roof initiative, have failed or underperformed. His EVs are also facing increased competition from Chinese EV makers.

The new Master Plan may look, as the criticism goes, more of a dream than a plan right now, but it reorients how Tesla views itself.

WhatsApp’s Close Friends 

 

It is not a secret that Meta wants WhatsApp to also become more of a social media platform, where users stay longer. Meta is now reported to be working on a feature that will allow users on WhatsApp to share status updates with their close contacts. Here, users can create a list of close friends, and can decide whether to share a status with everyone or just this select list.

A team of researchers from London’s Imperial College has designed an AI-powered stethoscope that can detect heart conditions in patients with- in 15 seconds. It can be used to diag- nose heart failure, heart valve disease, and abnormal heart rhythms by analysing tiny differences in a patient’s heartbeat and blood flow that are undetectable to the human ear.

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