Tesla’s stock experienced an uptick on Monday as CEO Elon Musk continued to highlight the potential impact of the company’s humanoid robots.
Musk stated on X that Tesla aims to have “genuinely useful humanoid robots in low production for Tesla internal use next year, and hopefully, high production for other companies by 2026.” This announcement follows Musk’s earlier remarks during Tesla’s annual meeting in April, where he mentioned that the Optimus robots would enter limited production in 2025, with over 1,000 robots anticipated to be operational by year’s end. Currently, two robots are reported to be on the factory floor, though Tesla has not disclosed their specific tasks.
Musk has speculated that the robots could add up to $20 trillion to Tesla’s market capitalization. However, the robots are not expected to reach the market until late 2025, with anticipated prices ranging between $20,000 and $30,000.
There is some ambiguity regarding Musk’s description of the robots as “genuinely useful.” Previous demonstrations have not been particularly convincing; for instance, a video released by Tesla showed an Optimus robot folding a shirt, which was later revealed to have been controlled by an off-screen individual.
This is not the first instance of Tesla presenting their robots in a somewhat theatrical manner. The Optimus robot project was initially introduced in 2021 with a person performing in a robot costume, raising skepticism among industry analysts. Craig Irwin, an analyst at Roth MKM, commented on Yahoo Finance that creating a sentient humanoid robot by 2025 seems unrealistic, and suggested that Tesla will find it challenging to compete with established companies like Boston Dynamics given the current technology they have presented.
In addition to Boston Dynamics, Tesla faces competition from Honda, Apptronik, as well as Chinese automakers like Dongfeng Motor and Nio, which are currently testing humanoid robots developed by UBTech Robotics. BMW has also incorporated humanoid robots from Silicon Valley-based Figure into its operations since January.
As a result of Musk’s announcements, Tesla’s stock rose over 3% on Monday, stabilizing after a significant recovery in the past two months. The company will report its second-quarter earnings on Tuesday, where Musk is expected to provide updates on the long-awaited robotaxi project.