Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk on Wednesday unveiled a plan to expand the company into electric trucks and buses, car sharing and solar energy systems. In a blog post, Musk shard its vision for an integrated carbon-free energy enterprise offering a wider range of vehicles, and products and services beyond electric cars and batteries.

The company plans to develop car and ride sharing programs as well as commercial vehicles - businesses where other companies already compete, and in some cases have ample head starts on Tesla.

The new vehicles range from a commercial truck called the Tesla Semi to a public transport bus, a "new kind of pickup truck" and a compact SUV. The vehicles will be unveiled next year alongside Tesla's existing fleet of electric cars.

Musk said that his company should acquire solar panel installer SolarCity. Tesla proposed buying SolarCity last month for up to $2.5 billion. Shareholders must still vote on the proposal.

Musk envisions becoming a seamless provider of solar panels and Tesla Powerwall backup systems to customers to power their homes and electric cars. "We can't do well if Tesla and SolarCity are different companies, which is why we need to combine," he said.

Musk summarized the plan saying Tesla aimed to "create stunning solar roofs for homes with seamlessly integrated battery storage.

Musk said he envisions Tesla owners allowing others to use their vehicles through a smartphone application. He indicated there will be a "Tesla shared fleet," but did not offer details of how that fleet would be managed.

He also aims to make Tesla’s Autopilot self-driving system 10 times safer than cars that humans drive manually.

Musk did not say when fully autonomous Teslas would be ready, but indicated it could require roughly five years of additional testing.

Most major automakers, as well as internet search company Alphabet, are investing heavily in automated driving technology.

Daimler AG is working on automated heavy trucks and electric commercial vehicles. General Motors and Toyota Motor are among the auto companies working on car sharing and forging alliances with ride hailing companies.