Tesla’s stock saw an increase on Monday as Elon Musk highlighted the potential value of the company’s humanoid robots. Musk stated on X that “Tesla will have genuinely useful humanoid robots in low production for internal use next year and, hopefully, in high production for other companies by 2026.”
During Tesla’s annual meeting in April, Musk revealed that the Optimus robots would enter limited production by 2025, with over 1,000 robots anticipated to be operational at Tesla by the end of that year. Currently, two robots are reportedly on the factory floor, although Tesla has not disclosed their specific tasks.
Musk previously suggested that these robots could add $20 trillion to the company’s market capitalization. The robots are not expected to be available for purchase until late 2025, with a predicted price range of $20,000 to $30,000.
There remains some ambiguity regarding what Musk means by “genuinely useful.” Previous demonstrations have not met expectations, with Tesla facing criticism for showcasing a video of an Optimus robot folding a shirt, which was claimed to have been performed by a person off-screen.
Tesla has faced skepticism regarding the development of its robots. Analyst Craig Irwin of Roth MKM commented, “A sentient humanoid robot by 2025? Come on, they tried to launch this product with a dancer inside of a robot suit. It’s going to be hard for them to catch up to Boston Dynamics, as what they’ve demonstrated is really state of the art for 2014.”
In addition to competition from Boston Dynamics, Tesla will also face challenges from companies like Honda and Apptronik. Chinese automakers Dongfeng Motor and Nio are currently testing humanoid robots developed by UBTech Robotics in their production lines, while BMW has been using humanoid robots from Figure since January.
Tesla’s stock increased by over 3% on Monday following Musk’s remarks. Year-to-date, the shares have remained relatively flat after experiencing a significant recovery over the past two months. Tesla is set to report its second-quarter earnings on Tuesday, where Musk is likely to provide updates on the delayed robotaxi project.