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- In a media blitz, Elon Musk said Tesla would roll out robotaxis in June using a "prudent" approach.
- Musk aims for rapid Optimus robot production, predicting one million units a year by 2030.
- Investor response remains lukewarm, and Musk has been wrong about his ambitious timelines before.
Elon Musk went on a media blitz to share plans on new robotics benchmarks and reiterate his commitment to Tesla.
The Tesla CEO spoke briefly with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella at the Microsoft Build conference on Monday, made a remote appearance at Bloomberg's Qatar Economic Forum, and appeared on CNBC twice on Tuesday.
At the Qatar Economic Forum, Musk said he is committed to leading Tesla for at least five more years, and said robotaxis will be implemented in June as originally scheduled.
"Yes, no doubt about that at all," Musk said during a video call when asked about his leadership.
Tesla's stock price stayed relatively stable following the market close on Tuesday, yet it showed an upturn in May when contrasted with earlier months after Musk indicated his stance. reduce his role in DOGE On April 22, however, Tesla's stock price remains lower for the year 2025, after experiencing decreases in both revenue and earnings during the first quarter.
Tesla's representatives did not reply to Business Insider’s request for commentary.
The key points about robotics from Musk's interviews are as follows.
A 'prudent' approach
Musk was asked about Tesla's Full Self-Driving Supervised software operating through a red light during a test drive by BI reporters and stressed the slow rollout of robotaxis for safety reasons
"I think it's prudent for us to start with a small number, confirm that things are going well, and then scale it up proportionate to how well we see it's doing," Musk told CNBC host David Faber.
Musk mentioned that they are currently testing robotaxis "operating around the clock with drivers inside the vehicles" and these tests require "practically no input from the driver." However, he advocates for being cautious as this will mark "the initial deployment of fully autonomous driving without direct supervision."
Musk further stated, "Let’s make sure we proceed intentionally at a measured pace." He continued, "It might seem feasible to launch thousands of them right from the beginning—say around 1,000 or even up to 10,000—but I believe this wouldn’t be wise. Instead, our plan is likely to initiate with approximately ten per week, gradually scaling it up incrementally to twenty, thirty, forty."
Musk stated that they aim to deploy around 1,000 autonomous taxis in Austin within several months, with plans later to extend this service to additional locations such as Los Angeles and San Antonio.
Although Musk did not specifically respond to Business Insider's report about the FSD making a crucial mistake, he mentioned that Tesla's robotaxis will be geo-fenced To choose particular regions in Austin. Similarly, Alphabet's Waymo confines its self-driving vehicles to designated areas.
He won’t allow it to navigate through intersections unless we’re very certain," Musk said to Faber. "Otherwise, it’ll simply go around the intersection instead.
The future of Optimus
Musk is expecting to scale up the use of humanoid robots quickly.
"We expect to have thousands of Optimus robots working in Tesla factories by the end of this year, beginning this fall," Musk told Faber on CNBC, "And we expect to scale Optimus up faster than any product, I think, in history, to get to millions of units per year as soon as possible."
"We are quite certain about reaching one million units annually within five years, possibly even sooner at around four years. Therefore, I predict with confidence that we could achieve one million Optimus units per year by 2030, potentially as early as 2029," Musk stated.
Musk informed Faber that Optimus will also become the "largest product ever" driven by "unquenchable" demand since "everybody" would desire one.
"When asked about training a robot, Musk stated that it will require significant computational power and time. He believes that there are specific pivotal advancements they aim to accomplish," he added.
During a brief talk with Microsoft CEO Nadella, Musk reaffirmed that various types of robotics, such as robotaxis and the human-like robot Optimus, must be rooted in practicality.
"Just as you noted about the car needing safe and proper operation, the humanoid robot Optimus should also execute the tasks it’s designed for," Musk stated to Nadella.
The market reacts
The media campaign launched by Musk received a somewhat indifferent reaction from investors. On Tuesday,Tesla's stock price increased by approximately 0.5% when the markets closed for the day as compared to the previous session; however, the share prices started declining during the extended trading hours.
Musk has been hinting at his plans to introduce humanoid robots to the market for many years. In 2021, he began teasing these plans more frequently. dancer actor wearing a full-body costume provided us with our initial glimpse of Optimus, who is also called Tesla Bot. By 2022, a basic version was already moving around during the firm's AI Day showcase.
In October 2024, Hasan Chowdhury from Business Insider reported about Tesla's robotics technology has progressed significantly since its inception. According to Chowdhury, during last year’s Tesla Robotaxi event, the Optimus prototypes engaged in rock-paper-scissors games with the crowd, served beverages, and even performed dances. However, some participants felt that the robots seemed hesitant. controlled by human operators .
Regarding the timeframe, Musk stated in a post on X Last July, Musk stated that Tesla would have "truly functional humanoid robots in limited production for internal use by next year" and expected broader manufacturing to allow sales to other businesses by 2026. However, as we approach mid-2025, extensive production hasn’t been reported yet, though the firm's Q1 2025 Update letter Tesla mentioned they are “on schedule” for producing Optimus units at their pilot production facility in Fremont in 2025, with plans for broader implementation of these robots performing productive tasks throughout their manufacturing plants.
Musk has previously been incorrect regarding timelines. In 2018, he admitted that he often tends to be overly optimistic Regarding when his inventions will reach the market. Sometimes, customers are still awaiting the realization of his commitments.
In 2019, Musk stated that Tesla would deploy more than one million robotaxis By the end of 2020, this was expected to happen; however, it has not occurred yet. The anticipated launch of its robotaxi service In Austin later this year, Tesla takes a small step closer to achieving that objective.
Nevertheless, if Tesla’s robotics unit succeeds in delivering everything it has promised with Optimus and its other uses, it would significantly benefit both the company and its shareholders. Tesla supporter and Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives has predicted That robotaxis will revolutionize things for Tesla, with an estimate suggesting the company might reach a valuation of $2 trillion within the next couple of years. Ives informed CNBC On Tuesday, he stated that approximately 90% of Tesla's potential future worth is tied to its autonomous vehicle software and robotics sector.
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