Tesla’s stock saw a significant increase on Monday as CEO Elon Musk reinforced the potential 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 next year” and anticipates scaling to higher production levels for external companies by 2026.
During Tesla’s annual shareholder meeting in April, Musk indicated that the Optimus robots would enter limited production by 2025, predicting that over 1,000 units could be operational at Tesla by the year’s end. Currently, two of these robots are functioning on the factory floor, although the company has not disclosed their specific tasks.
Musk has previously hypothesized that these robots could boost Tesla’s market capitalization by $20 trillion, with sales expected to begin only at the end of 2025. The anticipated price range for the robots is between $20,000 and $30,000.
There is some skepticism surrounding Musk’s claims about the “genuinely useful” nature of the robots, given that previous demonstrations have not been very convincing. Notably, Tesla faced criticism in May for a video showing an Optimus robot folding a shirt, which was quickly shown to have been controlled by an off-screen individual. Skepticism surrounding Tesla’s marketing tactics is also fueled by the company’s past introduction of the Optimus project in 2021, which featured a performer in a robot costume.
Craig Irwin, an analyst at MKM, expressed doubts on Yahoo Finance, stating, “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.” Tesla faces competition not only from Boston Dynamics, part of Hyundai Motor’s portfolio, but also from companies like Honda, Apptronik, and Chinese manufacturers Dongfeng Motor and Nio, who are collaborating with UBTech Robotics for factory humanoid robots. BMW has been working with Silicon Valley’s Figure robots since January.
As a result of Musk’s comments, Tesla’s stock gained over 3% on Monday. Shares are roughly flat year-to-date following a strong rebound in the past two months. The company is set to report its second-quarter earnings on Tuesday, during which Musk is expected to provide updates on the long-awaited robotaxi initiative.