Tesla CEO Elon Musk has announced that the company will produce “genuinely useful” humanoid robots, set to start working in its factories next year.
The world’s richest person, known for making ambitious claims on social media, posted on his platform X (formerly Twitter) that he also aims to enter “high production” mode to sell humanlike robots to other companies by 2026.
Musk, who owns X and leads SpaceX, has previously made bold predictions about the robot, named Optimus, being ready for commercial use. In 2021, the billionaire, whose net worth is estimated at $250 billion by Forbes, claimed the mechanoid would be operational in Tesla factories the following year.
Optimus stands about 1.7 meters tall, weighs 56 kg, and is designed to perform “boring, repetitious, and dangerous” tasks. The name references Optimus Prime, the powerful and benevolent leader of the Autobots in the Transformers franchise.
During a Tesla AI Day event in 2021, where the humanoid robot was initially introduced as the “Tesla Bot,” Musk hosted an unusual demonstration featuring an actor in a bodysuit who breakdanced to electronic dance music.
At another AI Day event in 2022, Musk, who has claimed that Tesla’s robot business will eventually surpass its car business in value, showcased a prototype of the robot that walked on stage and waved to the audience.
A video was shown of the robot carrying a box, watering plants, and moving metal bars in the carmaker’s factory.
Musk has previously stated that his goal is to mass-produce these robots and keep the cost under $20,000 each.
Optimus is not the only Musk project lagging behind initial projections. In 2019, he expressed “very confident” expectations that Tesla would have self-driving taxis on the road the following year.
Earlier this year, he announced that the model would be unveiled on August 8, but this now appears likely to be delayed after Musk requested a change to the front of the vehicle.