Musk: Tesla's Value to Rely Mainly on Optimus and Cybercab

Elon Musk wrote on X that Optimus humanoid robots and the Cybercab driverless vehicle will make up the bulk of Tesla's future market value.

'Optimus and Cybercab will make up the bulk of Tesla's value,' he said.

Optimus is a humanoid robot developed for physical tasks. Cybercab is a purpose-built, driverless vehicle. Both projects are positioned to move Tesla beyond a traditional retail car-sales business model.

Tesla's robotaxi service has begun moving passengers in limited parts of Austin, Texas, allowing riders to reserve driverless cars for urban trips. Unlike one-time vehicle sales, robotaxi services can generate recurring fare revenue, but wide-scale returns depend on demand, operating costs and regulatory approvals.

Optimus could generate revenue through direct sales or widespread deployment on factory floors and production lines. Commercial success will require reliable performance, affordable pricing and broad adoption in target markets.

Both projects will draw on the Terafab semiconductor facility, a $16.8 billion joint investment by Tesla and SpaceX in Texas intended to supply the processing and compute capacity needed to run the robots and autonomous systems.

Musk also identified four areas he says have extraordinary economic potential: superintelligence, robotics, solar energy and space transport. 'Only areas that will reach incredible economic scale (K2 and beyond) are superintelligence, robots, solar energy, and space transport,' he wrote.

He used K2 to refer to a Kardashev Type II civilization capable of harnessing a star's total output, and said he believes superintelligence and robotics will underpin growth in the other two areas. He added that adopting these technologies could, in his view, double global economic output within a decade.

Tesla has not abandoned the ambitious Roadster. Musk said the redesigned Roadster will be produced because of its appeal, and that the car incorporates SpaceX propulsion technologies. Production is targeted for 2028 after delays since the model's initial 2017 reveal.

Tesla said it will provide further details on automotive, autonomy and robotics progress in its third-quarter financial report.