Tesla CEO Elon Musk claimed that the company’s Optimus humanoid robots could eventually make Tesla worth more than half of the entire value of the S&P 500, which stands at $45.5 trillion. Speaking at Tesla’s annual shareholder meeting in Austin, Texas, Musk, who described himself as “pathologically optimistic,” announced that Tesla is not just entering a “new chapter” but writing an entirely “new book.”
Tesla first unveiled its plans for humanoid robots in 2021 at an AI Day event, showcasing a dancer in a robot suit. In January, Tesla demonstrated Optimus robots folding laundry, though the presentation was criticized for being misleading, as the robots were controlled by humans rather than operating autonomously.
At the shareholder event, Musk did not specify the current capabilities of Optimus but suggested that in the future, the robots could perform tasks similar to those of R2-D2 and C-3PO from “Star Wars,” such as cooking, cleaning, factory work, or even teaching. He suggested that Optimus could be the catalyst to raise Tesla’s market cap to $25 trillion.
Addressing an enthusiastic crowd at the Gigafactory, Musk promised that Tesla would move into “limited production” of Optimus in 2025 and begin testing the robots in its factories next year. He predicted that by 2025, Tesla would have “over 1,000, or a few thousand” Optimus robots working at its facilities.
This ambitious vision is characteristic of Musk, who is known for making bold promises that often take longer to materialize. Achieving a $25 trillion market cap would mean Tesla’s value would need to surpass that of Apple, the world’s largest company by market cap, by nearly eight times. Currently, Tesla is valued at about $580 billion, making it the 10th most valuable company in the S&P 500.
Musk also supported predictions by ARK Invest CEO Cathie Wood, who recently set a $2,600 price target on Tesla’s stock by 2029, equating to a market cap of more than $8 trillion. This target is based on the potential of a commercial robotaxi business, which Tesla has yet to enter.
Musk’s remarks at the meeting followed a shareholder vote to reinstate his $56 billion pay plan, despite a Delaware court’s order to rescind it. The proposal received a favorable response from the shareholders present.
Tesla shares have fallen 27% this year due to declining sales from an aging electric vehicle lineup and increased competition in China. Despite these challenges, Musk encouraged investors to focus on the future of autonomous driving, robots, and artificial intelligence.
Among Musk’s boldest claims was that Tesla has advanced so far in developing silicon for AI that it has surpassed Nvidia in terms of inference capabilities. Nvidia’s value has surged recently, driven by demand for its AI chips, and it is now worth about $3.2 trillion.
Concerns remain about Musk’s ability to focus on Tesla given his numerous other ventures, including ownership of social media company X, leadership of SpaceX, and involvement in startups like The Boring Co., Neuralink, and xAI. When asked about his importance to Tesla’s future, Musk stated, “I’m a helpful accelerant to that future,” underscoring his role in innovation.
Musk acknowledged competition in the humanoid robot market from companies like Boston Dynamics, Agility, Neura, and Apptronik, but emphasized the need for Tesla to be faster and better than its rivals.
