Tesla’s future might soon revolve around an army of humanoid robots, with Elon Musk envisioning a world where these robots could end poverty and eliminate the need for human labor. Musk has shared his belief with investors that Optimus, as the project is called, could bring in “infinite” revenue for Tesla and could potentially become “the greatest product of all time.”
Musk is betting both his company’s future and his personal fortune on the success of this ambitious vision, where Optimus robots could take on roles in factories, assist with household tasks, perform surgeries, and even travel to Mars to help establish human colonies. At present, each robot is assembled by hand, but Musk plans to mass-produce millions annually.
However, there’s still much for Optimus to learn before it can replace humans in large-scale industries as Musk hopes. Currently, Optimus is mostly operated remotely by human engineers in public demonstrations. One of the main challenges Tesla faces is developing a robot hand that can match human sensitivity and dexterity. Within Musk’s companies, some employees are skeptical about the practical use of these robots in everyday business operations like manufacturing.
Despite these challenges, Musk is determined to prove his critics wrong. His latest compensation deal sets ambitious goals for him, including making Tesla worth $8.5 trillion and selling at least one million robots. If successful, this could lead to a $1 trillion payout for Musk, and a major expansion of Tesla’s business beyond electric vehicles.
According to Adam Jonas, a Morgan Stanley analyst, “The car is to Tesla what the book was to Amazon. Tesla used cars as a laboratory to master new technology.”
Tesla’s recent results show a 16% drop in vehicle sales in the fourth quarter and a 9% decrease in total sales for 2025, leaving the company behind China’s BYD. Despite the slump in EV sales earlier in 2025, Tesla’s share price has recently rebounded, fueled by renewed optimism surrounding Musk’s shift toward robotaxis and humanoid robots.
