Elon Musk developing Tesla’s Optimus robot worth more than the EV business

Elon Musk stated during last week’s first-quarter earnings call for Tesla that its Optimus humanoid robot that is being developed is set to become the company’s most valuable business.

Tesla’s chief predicted that the Optimus project would be a crucial part of the business. He said that the humanoid robot’s importance would become apparent in the coming years. As per CNBC, the 50-year-old billionaire also shared that the first models of the bipedal robot are set to arrive in 2023 without saying the exact date.

Then again, experts are said to be dubious of this timetable since developing such a machine usually takes a while. Also, it was pointed out that Musk is known for his excessively optimistic predictions; thus, there is doubt about the given date.

In fact, when Musk said in 2016 that Tesla will deliver the self-driving electric vehicles by 2017, it did not happen as planned and has been behind schedule for years. Most recently, Tesla has stopped working on its autonomous EV that, in 2020, Musk said they would release by 2023.

At any rate, the billionaire said that the aim of creating the Optimus robot was to help drive labor costs down. He explained during Tesla’s AI Day last summer that the machine is meant to perform repetitive tasks.

“It’s intended to be friendly, of course, and navigate through a world of humans, and eliminate dangerous, repetitive and boring tasks,” CNBC quoted the Tesla and SpaceX CEO as saying at the time.“It should be able to, you know, please go to the store and get me the following groceries, that kind of thing.”

Furthermore, he said that he imagined a future where the robot could do various errands for its owners. He also assured that these robots would not pose a threat to humans. Musk said that the Optimus is being designed so humans can overpower or outrun it in case something goes wrong.

“As you see Optimus develop, everyone’s going to make sure it’s safe,” he said and added, “No Terminator stuff or that kind of thing.”

Meanwhile, Yahoo Finance reported that Tesla first unveiled the Optimus robot (a.k.a. Tesla Bot) in August 2021. It stands 5 feet and 8 inches and weighs 125 pounds. It is built to do repetitive or mundane tasks, so it can also help with the tight labor market.