• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
TechElon Musk

These Are Elon Musk’s Top 3 Priorities at Tesla

By
Katie Fehrenbacher
Katie Fehrenbacher
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Katie Fehrenbacher
Katie Fehrenbacher
Down Arrow Button Icon
October 26, 2016, 8:16 PM ET
Tour Of Tesla Motors Inc.'s Gigafactory With Remarks By Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk And Co-Founder Jeffrey Straubel
Billionaire Elon Musk, chief executive officer of Tesla Motors Inc., left, speaks as Jeffrey Straubel, chief technical officer and co-founder of Tesla Motors Inc., looks on during a press event at the company's new Gigafactory in Sparks, Nevada, U.S., on Tuesday, July 26, 2016. Tesla officially opened its Gigafactory on Tuesday, a little more than two years after construction began. The factory is about 14 percent complete but when it's finished, it will be about 10 million square feet, or about the size of 262 NFL football fields.Photograph by Troy Harvey—Bloomberg via Getty Images

In an earnings call following one of Tesla’s best quarters ever, Tesla CEO Elon Musk disclosed the three things he’s currently prioritizing at his electric car company.

Those priorities include making sure that the company’s upcoming Model 3 is on time and inexpensive enough, advancing Tesla’s autonomous vehicle software, and ramping up the company’s high-energy battery pack for cars.

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that the Model 3 is at the top of the list.

The company has only launched three cars in its 13-year lifetime, and the Model 3 will be the company’s fourth car. But the car will be Tesla’s (TSLA) first lower-priced car, with a planned cost of $35,000. The company’s other cars commonly go for six figures depending on the features.

In order to meet the Model 3’s low price, Tesla is racing to lower the cost of batteries that will power the car, by building a massive battery factory outside of Reno, Nevada. The car’s batteries, made in conjunction with Japanese giant Panasonic, will be larger in size than traditional lithium-ion batteries and will have other new features.

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter.

The company is trying to get the first Model 3 cars to customers by the end of 2017, as well as ramp up manufacturing of all its cars to 500,000 units per year by 2018, up from about 80,000 in 2016. Meeting that timeline could be difficult. Tesla has missed these types of deadlines in the past.

That Musk is also prioritizing the company’s Autopilot software—which currently aids Tesla drivers with steering, lane changing, and even parking—also isn’t too surprising. The company had a high profile fatal accident when one of its customers had Autopilot enabled.

Following the death, the company upgraded its software and recently announced that all new cars produced at the factory will have new hardware that can make them fully self-driving (when Tesla’s software enables it). That new hardware includes 8 cameras, powerful computing, and a next-gen radar system.

Many companies are aggressively moving into autonomous vehicles, from traditional auto industry firms like GM and Nissan, to startups including Otto and Cruise Automation, to ride-sharing upstarts like Uber. Tesla has an opportunity to lead with its self-driving car tech, but it will have to work quickly to maintain a head start.

Tesla Just Introduced a New High-Energy Battery Pack

Musk’s third Tesla priority is a little more counter intuitive. Two months ago the company announced it’s working on a 100-kilowatt hour battery pack for its cars that can enable them to accelerate more quickly and drive further on a single charge. The 100-kilowatt battery can last for 315 miles, which is the longest range ever for a production electric vehicle.

Currently the battery pack is only being made in limited amounts, and it uses a new battery cell cooling system, battery cell architecture, and electronics.

Musk said on Wednesday’s earnings call that there is high demand for the 100-kilowatt hour battery pack, and that he gets daily updates on the technology’s progress. In fact, he said after he got off the earnings call, he would be focused on that battery production line.

While the 100-kilowatt battery may seem like the stuff of energy nerds, it actually represents everything that Tesla has worked on for the last decade. If the company can offer the high-energy battery pack much more widely, it could beat out many competitors also launching electric cars in the coming years.

About the Author
By Katie Fehrenbacher
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Tech

These startups are racing to make AI safe for the Pentagon’s most closely guarded secrets
AIDefense
These startups are racing to make AI safe for the Pentagon’s most closely guarded secrets
By Erik GermanApril 11, 2026
13 hours ago
karp
Future of Workpalantir
Palantir CEO says AI ‘will destroy’ humanities jobs but there will be ‘more than enough jobs’ for people with vocational training
By Jacqueline MunisApril 11, 2026
14 hours ago
A Starbucks barista stands behind a cash register.
RetailFood and drink
Starbucks’ game plan to roll out AI chatbots at cafés could serve as a ‘litmus test’ for the industry, analyst says
By Sasha RogelbergApril 11, 2026
14 hours ago
The ‘Tuscan Mom’ aesthetic is taking over TikTok as Gen Z glamorize McMansions and reject millennial gray
Travel & LeisureGen Z
The ‘Tuscan Mom’ aesthetic is taking over TikTok as Gen Z glamorize McMansions and reject millennial gray
By Sydney LakeApril 11, 2026
14 hours ago
dalmation
AIHealth
Man’s best friend may soon live a little longer thanks to a new pill promising to extend your pup’s lifespan
By Catherina GioinoApril 11, 2026
15 hours ago
hunt
CommentaryMedia
OpenAI’s TBPN deal shows how talent, media, and influence are collapsing into one
By Jonathan HuntApril 11, 2026
16 hours ago

Most Popular

Scottie Scheffler joined Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy in golf's $100M club—and donated his entire Ryder Cup stipend to charity
Success
Scottie Scheffler joined Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy in golf's $100M club—and donated his entire Ryder Cup stipend to charity
By Fortune EditorsApril 10, 2026
1 day ago
The Navy confirmed an ‘abundant amount’ of Uncrustables when the Artemis II crew lands. Smucker’s just offered them a lifetime supply
Politics
The Navy confirmed an ‘abundant amount’ of Uncrustables when the Artemis II crew lands. Smucker’s just offered them a lifetime supply
By Fortune EditorsApril 10, 2026
1 day ago
The 'affordability economy' has created a housing market nobody predicted: Prices collapsing in the Sun Belt, soaring in the Rust Belt
Real Estate
The 'affordability economy' has created a housing market nobody predicted: Prices collapsing in the Sun Belt, soaring in the Rust Belt
By Fortune EditorsApril 11, 2026
17 hours ago
Warren Buffett says 'accumulating great amounts of money' doesn’t achieve greatness—He still lives in a $31,500 Nebraska home and clipped coupons
Success
Warren Buffett says 'accumulating great amounts of money' doesn’t achieve greatness—He still lives in a $31,500 Nebraska home and clipped coupons
By Fortune EditorsApril 11, 2026
14 hours ago
Palantir CEO says AI ‘will destroy’ humanities jobs but there will be ‘more than enough jobs’ for people with vocational training
Future of Work
Palantir CEO says AI ‘will destroy’ humanities jobs but there will be ‘more than enough jobs’ for people with vocational training
By Fortune EditorsApril 11, 2026
14 hours ago
Schools across America are quietly admitting that screens in classrooms made students worse off and are reversing years of tech-first policies
Innovation
Schools across America are quietly admitting that screens in classrooms made students worse off and are reversing years of tech-first policies
By Fortune EditorsApril 10, 2026
2 days ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.