Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, has announced that the company will begin producing and deploying humanoid robots starting next year.
In a social media update, Musk revealed that Tesla will initially use the robots internally before making them available for purchase in 2026.
Musk had earlier predicted that the robot, named Optimus, would be operational in Tesla’s factories by the end of this year.
Several other companies, including Honda and Boston Dynamics, are also working on their own humanoid robots.
“Tesla will have genuinely useful humanoid robots in low production for Tesla internal use next year and, hopefully, high production for other companies in 2026,” Mr Musk said on his social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.
This announcement came just one day before Tesla was set to release its latest financial results.
Tesla’s shares closed Monday’s trading session in New York up by more than 5%.
The company has stated its goal is to develop an “autonomous humanoid robot” designed to handle “unsafe, repetitive, or boring tasks.”
Musk has previously mentioned that Tesla aims to mass-produce these robots, with each unit costing under $20,000 (£17,900).
Known for setting ambitious timelines, Musk has not always met his targets. For example, in 2019, he expressed strong confidence that Tesla would have self-driving taxis available the following year.
Earlier this year, Musk announced that the long-anticipated robotaxi would be revealed on August 8.
Last week, he seemed to confirm a delay to the event and did not provide a new date but noted that he had requested a change to the vehicle’s front design.
“The extra time allows us to show off a few other things,” he wrote.
It came after Bloomberg News reported that the event had been delayed to October.
Mr Musk’s businesses have been increasingly focusing on technologies such as artificial intelligence, autonomous driving and robots at a time of slowing demand for electric vehicles.