Tesla factories to get humanoid robots for internal use next year
Tesla will have humanoid robots in “low production” next year for the company’s internal use, CEO Elon Musk said Monday, months after announcing a rollout by late 2024.
The automaker will “hopefully” put the robots into large-scale production for other companies in 2026, Musk said in a post on social media platform X.
Musk said in April that Tesla’s robot, called Optimus, could be performing factory tasks by the end of this year and could be ready for sale as early as late 2025.
Humanoid robots have been in development for several years by Japan’s Honda and Hyundai Motor’s Boston Dynamics. Companies are turning to them to fill potential labor shortages and perform repetitive tasks that can be dangerous or tedious, such as logistics, warehousing and manufacturing.
Musk has a history of failing to deliver on ambitious promises to Wall Street.
In 2019, he told investors that Tesla would operate a network of self-driving cars, called “robotaxi,” by 2020.
Last week, he indicated that the unveiling of the robotaxi would take more time, calling for “a significant design change” to the front of the vehicle.
Tesla released the first generation of its Optimus robot, called Bumblebee, in September 2022. This year, the company posted a video of a second-generation bipedal robot folding a T-shirt at the company’s factory.
Musk has turned to artificial intelligence, autonomous driving software, robotaxis and the Optimus robot in recent months as demand for electric vehicles, which account for more than 80 percent of Tesla’s quarterly revenue, slumps.
Tesla is set to report second-quarter results on Tuesday, with Wall Street expecting margins to hit a five-year low. But the focus is also on Musk’s ambitious plans for robotaxis and AI products.
Tesla shares rose about 1 percent in pre-market trading on Monday.
© Thomson Reuters 2024
