Tesla’s stock experienced an increase on Monday as Elon Musk further touted the potential impact of the company’s humanoid robots. In a post on X, Musk stated, “Tesla will have genuinely useful humanoid robots in low production for Tesla internal use next year and, hopefully, high production for other companies in 2026.”
During Tesla’s annual meeting in April, Musk had previously mentioned that the Optimus robot would transition into limited production in 2025, with a prediction that by the end of that year, over 1,000 robots would be operational at Tesla. Currently, two robots are working on the factory floor, but Tesla has not disclosed their specific roles.
Musk has also suggested that the robots could potentially add $20 trillion to the company’s market value, although they are not anticipated to be available for sale until late 2025, with projected prices ranging between $20,000 and $30,000.
The exact functionality of these “genuinely useful” robots remains ambiguous, especially considering past product demonstrations that have drawn skepticism. In May, Tesla faced criticism for a video showing an Optimus robot folding a shirt, which was later revealed to have been controlled by an individual off-screen.
Tesla’s initial showcase of the Optimus project in 2021 included a person in a robot costume dancing, raising doubts about its seriousness. Craig Irwin, an analyst at 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.”
In addition to competition from Hyundai’s Boston Dynamics, Tesla is also up against Japan’s Honda and the company Apptronik. Chinese firms like 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 Silicon Valley-based Figure since January.
Following Musk’s remarks, Tesla’s stock rose more than 3% on Monday. Year-to-date, shares have remained relatively stable after experiencing a significant rebound over the past two months. The company is set to report its second-quarter earnings on Tuesday, where Musk is expected to provide an update on the delayed robotaxi reveal.