Tesla’s Optimus robots might turn out to be the corporate’s most useful asset, says the corporate’s CEO Elon Musk.
“As I’ve stated earlier than, I believe Optimus might be extra useful than every thing else mixed,” Musk stated in an earnings name on Tuesday.
“As a result of in case you’ve obtained a sentient humanoid robotic that is ready to navigate actuality and do duties at request, there isn’t any significant restrict to the dimensions of the financial system,” he added.
Through the name, Musk informed buyers that the Optimus can carry out “easy manufacturing facility duties within the lab” earlier than providing a tough timeline on when he thinks the robots can be rolled out.
“We do assume we can have Optimus in restricted manufacturing within the pure manufacturing facility itself, doing helpful duties earlier than the tip of this yr,” Musk stated. “After which I believe we might be able to promote it externally by the tip of subsequent yr. These are simply guesses.”
Musk’s bullish remarks about Tesla’s work in robotics come because the EV large struggles with declining gross sales. On Tuesday, the corporate introduced its quarterly income dropped by 9% year-over-year. This fall is Tesla’s largest income drop since 2012.
Earlier this month, the corporate revealed that it had delivered 386,810 automobiles within the first quarter of 2024, a 20.1% drop from the earlier quarter. The corporate’s efficiency in Q1 was additionally its worst quarterly efficiency since 2022.
Tesla’s current challenges seem to have jolted Musk into excessive gear as he makes an attempt to promote the viability of the corporate’s works-in-progress.
Moreover teasing a new robotaxi idea for its autos, Tesla additionally slashed its car costs throughout a number of markets over the weekend.
Costs of Tesla’s Mannequin 3, S, X, and Y have been diminished by 14,000 yuan, or about $1,930, in China, a rustic the place the carmaker is going through steep competitors from native rivals like BYD.
“We ought to be considered an AI or robotics firm,” Musk informed buyers on Tuesday. “If you happen to worth Tesla as identical to an auto firm, essentially, it is simply the fallacious framework, and in case you ask the fallacious query, then the correct reply is unattainable.”
Up to now, Musk has tried to salvage the corporate’s fortunes by tweaking costs and touting rising applied sciences.
Nonetheless, Musk has repeatedly set after which missed his personal targets for when Tesla will carry self-driving automobiles to the lots. In 2019, Musk stated he was “very assured” that Tesla would have 1 million autonomous robotaxis on the street by 2020.
Representatives for Tesla did not instantly reply to a request for remark from BI despatched outdoors common enterprise hours.
