Tesla shares experienced an uptick on Monday as CEO Elon Musk continues to highlight the potential benefits 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.”
Earlier in April, during Tesla’s annual shareholder meeting, Musk indicated that the Optimus robots would enter limited production in 2025, with expectations of more than 1,000 units operational at Tesla by year’s end. Currently, two robots are deployed on the factory floor, though the specific tasks they perform remain undisclosed.
Musk previously suggested that the introduction of these robots could increase Tesla’s market capitalization by $20 trillion. While the robots are not slated for sale until late 2025, their projected price range is between $20,000 and $30,000.
However, it remains ambiguous what Musk means by describing the robots as “genuinely useful.” Previous demonstrations have faced skepticism; for instance, a video released in May showed an Optimus robot folding a shirt, which critics claimed was actually being operated by an off-screen individual.
Tesla has a history of showcasing its robots with unconventional presentations, including the controversial debut of the Optimus project in 2021, which featured a person dancing in a robot costume.
Analyst Craig Irwin from Roth MKM commented on Yahoo Finance, “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 gonna 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 Boston Dynamics, a subsidiary of Hyundai Motor, but also from Honda and Apptronik. Additionally, Chinese companies like Dongfeng Motor and Nio are experimenting with humanoid robots developed by UBTech Robotics in their production lines, while BMW has integrated humanoid robots from Silicon Valley-based Figure into its operations since early this year.
Following Musk’s remarks, Tesla stock rose over 3% on Monday. Year-to-date, shares have remained relatively stable after experiencing a significant recovery over the past two months. Investors are also anticipating Tesla’s second-quarter earnings report on Tuesday, where Musk is expected to provide updates on the delayed introduction of the company’s robotaxi.