Tesla’s stock witnessed an increase on Monday as CEO Elon Musk highlighted the promising potential of the company’s humanoid robots.
Musk took to X to announce, “Tesla will have genuinely useful humanoid robots in low production for internal use next year and, hopefully, high production for other companies by 2026.”
At Tesla’s annual meeting in April, Musk had stated that the Optimus robot would enter limited production by 2025, with expectations of having over 1,000 units operational by year’s end. Presently, two robots are reportedly functioning on the factory floor, although Tesla has not disclosed their specific tasks.
Musk suggested that the introduction of these robots could significantly enhance the company’s market capitalization by up to $20 trillion. He also indicated that the robots may not become available for purchase until the end of 2025, with a projected price range of $20,000 to $30,000.
However, it remains uncertain what Musk means by “genuinely useful.” Previous demonstrations of the robots have raised skepticism; for instance, in May, Tesla was criticized for sharing a video of an Optimus robot folding a shirt, which appeared to be controlled by someone off-screen.
This is not the first instance of Tesla presenting its robots in a somewhat theatrical manner. The Optimus project was initially introduced in 2021 through a performance involving a person in a robot costume.
MKM analyst Craig Irwin commented on Yahoo Finance, questioning the feasibility of introducing a sentient humanoid robot by 2025, noting, “They tried to launch this product with a dancer inside of a robot suit. It’s gonna be hard for them to catch up to Boston Dynamics. What they’ve shown us is really state of the art for 2014.”
In addition to competing with Hyundai Motor’s Boston Dynamics, Tesla will also face competition from Honda and Apptronik in Japan. Notably, Chinese companies like Dongfeng Motor and Nio are testing humanoid robots on their factory production lines, and BMW has been utilizing humanoid robots from Silicon Valley’s Figure since late January.
Following Musk’s remarks, Tesla’s stock rose over 3% on Monday. Year-to-date, shares have remained relatively stable after significant gains over the last two months. Tesla is set to announce its second-quarter earnings on Tuesday, where Musk is anticipated to provide updates on the delayed rollout of the robotaxi.