Tesla’s stock saw an increase on Monday as Elon Musk emphasized the potential value of the company’s humanoid robots. Musk stated on X that Tesla aims to have genuinely useful humanoid robots in low production for internal use by next year, with hopes for higher production for external companies by 2026.
During Tesla’s annual meeting in April, Musk indicated that the Optimus robots would enter limited production in 2025, projecting that over 1,000 units would be operational within the company by the year’s end. Currently, two robots are present on the factory floor, although their specific tasks remain undisclosed.
Musk previously suggested that the introduction of these robots could potentially add up to $20 trillion to Tesla’s market valuation. The robots are not expected to go to market until the end of 2025, with a projected selling price between $20,000 and $30,000.
There remains ambiguity surrounding what Musk means by “genuinely useful” robots. Previous demonstrations have faced skepticism; for example, Tesla was criticized in May for a video that appeared to show an Optimus robot folding a shirt, which was reportedly controlled by someone off-camera.
Tesla has a history of using eye-catching displays to promote its robots, with the Optimus project originally revealed in 2021 featuring a person dressed in a costume performing a dance.
Analyst Craig Irwin from MKM voiced doubts about the company’s goals, stating, “A sentient humanoid robot by 2025? They launched this product with a dancer inside of a robot suit. It’s going to be hard for them to catch up to Boston Dynamics. What they’ve shown us is really state of the art for 2014.”
Tesla faces competition not only from Hyundai’s Boston Dynamics but also from Honda and Apptronik in Japan. In China, companies like Dongfeng Motor and Nio are exploring humanoid robots developed by UBTech Robotics for production lines, while BMW has utilized humanoid robots from Silicon Valley-based Figure in its operations since early 2023.
Following Musk’s comments, Tesla’s stock rose more than 3% on Monday. Year-to-date, shares have remained relatively stable after a significant rebound over the last two months. Tesla is set to report its second-quarter earnings on Tuesday, where Musk is anticipated to provide updates on the company’s postponed robotaxi launch.