Tesla’s stock experienced an increase on Monday, buoyed by Elon Musk’s continued endorsements of the company’s humanoid robots’ potential.
Musk stated on X, “Tesla will have genuinely useful humanoid robots in low production for internal use next year and, hopefully, high production for other companies by 2026.” He had previously mentioned at Tesla’s annual shareholder meeting in April that the company plans to initiate limited production of the Optimus robot in 2025, with a goal of having over 1,000 robots operational at Tesla by year-end. Currently, two robots are on the factory floor, although Tesla has not disclosed their specific roles.
In April, Musk suggested that the humanoid robots could significantly boost Tesla’s market capitalization, potentially adding up to $20 trillion. However, the robots are not projected to be available for sale until late 2025, with anticipated prices ranging between $20,000 and $30,000.
The precise definition of “genuinely useful” robots has raised some skepticism, especially following past product demonstrations that did not impress industry observers. In May, Tesla faced criticism for a video that appeared to show an Optimus robot folding a shirt, which was later revealed to be controlled by an operator off-camera.
Skepticism surrounding Tesla’s robot project is not new. The unveiling of the Optimus robot in 2021 included a dancer in a robot costume, leading to doubts about its true capabilities. Analyst Craig Irwin from MKM stated, “A sentient humanoid robot by 2025? I mean, 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 shown is really state of the art for 2014.”
Tesla faces competition not only from Hyundai Motor’s Boston Dynamics but also from Honda and Apptronik in Japan. Chinese companies like Dongfeng Motor and Nio have begun testing humanoid robots developed by UBTech Robotics in their production lines, while BMW has collaborated with Silicon Valley-based Figure for their humanoid robots since January.
On Monday, Tesla’s stock rose more than 3% following Musk’s comments, with shares remaining relatively stable year-to-date after a significant rebound in the past two months. Tesla is scheduled to report its second-quarter earnings on Tuesday, during which Musk is expected to provide an update on the company’s postponed robotaxi launch.