Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced this week that his company will be incorporating humanoid robots into production lines as early as next year.
The world’s richest man posted his predictions on X Monday, claiming that the manufacturing robot Optimus will be used in Tesla production next year.
“Tesla will have genuinely useful humanoid robots in low production for Tesla internal use by next year and, hopefully, high production for other companies in 2026,” Mr. Musk posted on X Monday.
The Optimus project debuted in 2021. The project, originally known as “Tesla Bot,” was intended to replace “boring” work on production lines. At the time, Mr. Musk claimed that the robot would be available for other commercial users by the end of 2022.
Mr. Musk is no stranger to making dubious predictions about his projects. He has made bold claims about Tesla’s self-driving taxi program, saying the project would be finished by 2019 and scrapped a plan to build a more affordable Tesla EV.
He has also been rumored to rush projects to get ahead of the market, with several former Tesla employees alleging the CEO pushed the company’s full self-driving program through development before it was fully ready.
The claim is further evidence of Mr. Musk’s intentions to move Tesla away from EVs and into AI and robotics. As competition grows in the EV market, Tesla’s market share has steadily declined. However, the company has maintained a steady customer base that eagerly awaits the company’s next product.
Mr. Musk himself has said that Tesla’s robotics business will be more valuable than its vehicles.
The company has also started hiring again, focusing mostly on its growing AI and robotics departments.
• Vaughn Cockayne can be reached at vcockayne@washingtontimes.com.
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