Tesla CEO Musk said in a financial report conference call that Tesla is expected to reach 100 million units by the end of this year. Optimus Humanoid RobotThe company may sell the robot to the public by the end of 2025, and Tesla plans to use it first in its own factory by the end of this year.
A few months ago, Tesla released the Optimus Gen 2, a new generation of humanoid robots designed to take over repetitive tasks from humans. The new prototype robot has many improvements over the previous version.
Tesla believes that it is feasible to build humanoid robots using the artificial intelligence technology of its self-driving car project and its expertise in batteries and motors. They say that Tesla's cars are actually "robots on wheels" and now they just need to be made into human form to replace humans in completing some tasks, especially repetitive and dangerous tasks.
In a previous update on Optimus, Musk said that "the Optimus project is severely underestimated." He expects demand for the robot could be as high as 10 billion to 20 billion units. Musk even "confidently predicts" that Optimus will account for "the majority of Tesla's long-term value."
Musk's vision is that everyone will have a Tesla Optimus robot in their home, which will not only take over many manufacturing and service jobs, but will also enter ordinary people's homes.
Musk updated the launch schedule for Optimus after releasing Tesla's first quarter 2024 financial report. He said Optimus is already performing factory tasks in the lab and believes that by the end of this year, it will be able to perform real tasks in Tesla's actual factory.
Additionally, Musk said he believes Tesla could begin selling Optimus robots to customers outside the company by the end of 2025. He reiterated his expectation that Optimus will eventually account for the majority of Tesla's revenue and overall value.
Musk has previously said he expects the Optimus to cost "less than half the price of the car," about $25,000 (currently about 181,000 yuan).