According to Reuters, Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced on July 22 that Tesla will start "small-scale production" of humanoid robots next year for internal use within the company.
In a post on the social media platform X, Musk stated that Tesla "expects" to mass-produce humanoid robots for other companies by 2026.
In April this year, Musk mentioned that Tesla's humanoid robot, named Optimus, would be capable of performing tasks in factories by the end of this year and might be available for sale as early as the end of 2025.
Besides Tesla, Japan's Honda Motor Co. and Boston Dynamics, a subsidiary of South Korea's Hyundai Motor Co., have also been developing humanoid robots for several years. These companies hope that robots will address potential labor shortages and perform potentially hazardous or tedious repetitive tasks in logistics, warehousing, and manufacturing.
Over the years, Musk has made several promises to Wall Street investors. In 2019, he told investors that Tesla would operate a "robotaxi" network by 2020.
Last week, Musk hinted that the debut of the robotaxi would take more time, stating that he requested "significant design changes" to the front of the vehicle.
In September 2022, Tesla unveiled the first generation of its Optimus robot, dubbed "Bumblebee." This year, Tesla released a video showing the second generation of its bipedal robot folding T-shirts in the company factory.
In recent months, demand for Tesla's electric vehicles has declined, while electric vehicles account for over 80% of Tesla's quarterly revenue. Consequently, Musk has shifted his focus to artificial intelligence, autonomous driving software, robotaxis, and the Optimus robot.
Tesla is set to announce its second-quarter results on July 23, with Wall Street expecting its profit margin to drop to the lowest level in more than five years. However, attention will also be on Musk's ambitious plans for robotaxis and AI products. On July 22, Tesla's stock price rose by about 1% in pre-market trading.
