Elon Musk, the chief executive officer (CEO) of Tesla, predicted that the majority of the company's value in the future will be attributed to the humanoid robot "Optimus" currently under development. He stated that he would focus on robot development.
On July 2 (local time), Musk wrote on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), "Optimistic will account for up to 80% of Tesla's value (~80% of Tesla's value will be Optimus)." This emphasized the importance of Optimus in response to a post suggesting that Tesla's core businesses would focus on Full Self-Driving (FSD) software aimed at autonomous driving and Optimus.
Musk forecasted during Tesla's earnings announcement in July that the annual production of Optimus would reach 1 million units within five years. He also noted that the third-generation prototype of Optimus would be unveiled by the end of this year. At that time, Musk confidently stated that Optimus would someday transform Tesla into a corporation valued at $25 trillion (approximately 3.4 quadrillion won).
Musk aims to develop and sell bipedal intelligent robots capable of performing all tasks, from factory work to household chores. In this regard, Tesla introduced the first model of Optimus in 2021, and it has now completed the development of the second version.
In January of this year, Musk stated, "No company does artificial intelligence (AI) in the real world as well as Tesla," and he noted that the massive investments made in AI and robotics would yield tremendous results in the future.
Musk's mention that Optimus will be a key to Tesla's value came as vehicle sales for the automaker are declining. As of the second quarter of this year, Tesla's automotive sector revenue accounted for about 74% of total revenue, but profits have fallen as vehicle sales decrease. In July, Tesla's new car sales in Europe plunged 40.2% compared to the same period last year. In China, which accounts for over 60% of the global electric vehicle market, Tesla's sales also dropped by 12% year-on-year in July.