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Tesla CEO Elon Musk is bullish on how he views the competition in what is arguably the next frontier for his U.S.-headquartered company—humanoid robots.
“With respect to humanoid robots, I don’t think there’s any company in any country that can match Tesla,” Musk said on an earnings call Tuesday in response to a question about competition between China and the U.S. in the development of physical AI and drones.
“Tesla and SpaceX are No. 1, and then now, I’m a little concerned that on the leaderboard, ranks two through 10 will be Chinese companies, but I’m confident rank one will be Tesla,” Musk continued.
He did not elaborate on why he thought Tesla ranked No. 1 globally in the development of humanoid robots, and the earnings call ended following that comment.
It’s not the first time Musk has been bullish about his company’s position. In November 2023, Musk claimed the top 10 automakers of the future will be Tesla followed by nine Chinese companies. Then in January last year, Musk said on an earnings call that without trade barriers, Chinese EV companies would “pretty much demolish most other car companies in the world.”
Musk’s Tesla can arguably be referred to as the first mover when it comes to electric vehicles. Yet a few notable endeavors, like robotaxis, have shown that Musk can be late delivering on his promises.
Optimus debut
Tesla debuted its Optimus humanoid robot in 2022 and on an earnings call in January of this year, Musk hyped humanoid robots again, saying that the project alone could generate more than $10 trillion in revenue.
But since Optimus’s debut, China and its companies have arguably captured global attention for advancements in humanoid robot development.
Take, for example, Unitree’s dozen humanlike robots dancing at the annual Lunar New Year gala that is watched by tens of millions in China during the holiday. Since then, several other videos of humanoid robots doing roundhouse kicks and side flips have popped up on the internet.
Industrial robots already automate parts of manufacturing, and the consumer market has had task-specific robots like robo-vacuums for years. But developing humanoid robots that can mimic human movement and capabilities would allow such robots to assist in health care settings, take over household chores, or even perform hazardous tasks.
Earlier this year, China, with its increasing elderly population, formalized a policy that aimed to use such robots to assist in senior-care settings.
Tesla’s robot issues
In the U.S., besides Tesla, the high-profile humanoid robotics startup Figure AI has also been gaining attention in Silicon Valley; it is backed by Nvidia, Microsoft, and Jeff Bezos. Figure AI announced a commercial agreement with BMW early last year—though it appears to still be in its infancy.