Tesla’s shares are experiencing a rise on Monday as CEO Elon Musk highlights the potential of the company’s humanoid robots. Musk stated on social media that Tesla aims to have “genuinely useful humanoid robots” in low production for internal use by next year, with hopes for broader production for other companies by 2026.
At Tesla’s annual shareholder meeting in April, Musk indicated that the Optimus robot would enter limited production in 2025, predicting that over 1,000 units could be operational at Tesla by the year’s end. Currently, two robots are already on the production floor, although Tesla has not disclosed their specific functions.
Musk has also mentioned the potential financial impact of the robots, suggesting they could contribute up to $20 trillion to Tesla’s market capitalization. The robots are not expected for public sale until late 2025, with anticipated prices ranging from $20,000 to $30,000.
However, there remains skepticism about Musk’s characterization of the robots as “genuinely useful.” Previous demonstrations have faced criticism; for instance, a video claimed to show an Optimus robot folding a shirt, which was allegedly controlled by a person off-screen.
Analyst Craig Irwin raised concerns about Tesla’s ability to compete with established entities like Boston Dynamics, saying that Tesla’s past presentations have been unimpressive compared to current industry standards.
In addition to Boston Dynamics, Tesla faces competition from Honda and Apptronik, as well as various Chinese companies testing humanoid robots on their production lines. BMW also began utilizing humanoid robots from Figure in its operations early this year.
Following Musk’s remarks, Tesla’s stock increased by over 3% on Monday, staying relatively stable year-to-date after a significant recovery in the past couple of months. Tesla is set to release its second-quarter earnings on Tuesday, where Musk is expected to provide updates on the company’s anticipated robotaxi launch.