Tesla shares saw an increase on Monday as CEO Elon Musk continued to highlight the potential benefits of the company’s humanoid robot project. Musk announced on social media that Tesla plans to have “genuinely useful” humanoid robots in low production for internal use by next year, with an aim for higher production for other companies by 2026.
During Tesla’s annual shareholder meeting in April, Musk indicated that production of the Optimus robots would begin on a limited scale in 2025, with expectations of over 1,000 robots operational at the company by the end of that year. Currently, two robots are working on the factory floor, although Tesla has not disclosed their specific functions.
Musk previously mentioned that the humanoid robots could potentially increase Tesla’s market capitalization by $20 trillion. The robots are not expected to be available for sale until late 2025, with projected prices ranging between $20,000 and $30,000.
However, the term “genuinely useful” when referring to the robots remains somewhat ambiguous. Previous demonstrations of the technology have not always been convincing. In May, Tesla faced criticism for releasing a video that featured an Optimus robot folding a shirt, which was later revealed to be controlled by a person off-screen.
This is not the first instance where Tesla has used questionable visuals to showcase its robots, as the company’s initial promotion for the Optimus project in 2021 featured a person dressed in a robot costume performing a dance.
Skepticism also lingers among analysts regarding the ambition of producing a sentient humanoid robot by 2025. Roth MKM analyst Craig Irwin remarked that catching up to competitors like Boston Dynamics would be a challenge for Tesla, pointing out that what they have shown is outdated compared to existing technology.
In addition to competition from Hyundai’s Boston Dynamics, Tesla will face rivals such as Japan’s Honda and Apptronik. Chinese companies Dongfeng Motor and Nio are currently testing humanoid robots developed by UBTech Robotics in their production lines, while BMW has been employing humanoid robots from Figure, a Silicon Valley startup, in its operations since January.
Following Musk’s remarks, Tesla shares climbed over 3% on Monday. So far this year, the stock has remained relatively stable after a significant recovery in the last two months. Tesla is set to announce its second-quarter earnings on Tuesday, where Musk is likely to provide updates on the long-awaited robotaxi initiative.