I totally get ending production lines for things that aren't selling. Happens with everything. But switching to humanoid robots? I know Tesla is a company that tries to be ahead of the curve. All...
I totally get ending production lines for things that aren't selling. Happens with everything. But switching to humanoid robots? I know Tesla is a company that tries to be ahead of the curve. All his companies try to be that way; nothing wrong with that. But this Optimus thing seems pretty farfetched. Which wouldn't be a first for their clown of a leader, of course.
Maybe one day these will be a common feature in the household and in the workplace (and how we get to the events in one of the Animatrix short films that leads to the Matrix 😱), but I don't think that day is anytime soon.
Unfortunately, feel like workers at the Fremont factory might want to start tidying up their resumes...
This was before Elon fried his brain with ketamine. Now they squander billions building dangerous trucks nobody wants, dumb robots nobody will buy, and software that generates child pornography....
I know Tesla is a company that tries to be ahead of the curve.
This was before Elon fried his brain with ketamine. Now they squander billions building dangerous trucks nobody wants, dumb robots nobody will buy, and software that generates child pornography. Also FSD still isn't out yet.
The real shame is the shareholders enabling a man who constantly promises the moon and can barely take the stairs in the end. That childhood illusion of financial investors being these cutthroat,...
The real shame is the shareholders enabling a man who constantly promises the moon and can barely take the stairs in the end. That childhood illusion of financial investors being these cutthroat, scrutinous masterminds was shattered pretty hard when I started peeking into how the stock market really worked.
There are basically two kinds of companies on the stock market: growth stocks and blue chip stocks. Growth stocks are priced based on their perceived potential to grow in the future. These...
There are basically two kinds of companies on the stock market: growth stocks and blue chip stocks.
Growth stocks are priced based on their perceived potential to grow in the future. These companies will have valuations far greater than their current profits justify because people believe they will increase their profit in the future.
Blue chip stocks are priced based on their real life performance. Nobody really expects them to be able to drastically increase their profit because they have already captured as much of the market as they can.
Musk wants to keep Tesla as a growth stock because his fortune depends on people overvaluing Tesla stock. He’s pretty much expended the hype he can generate around cars. Unless he can convince investors that there is another market that Tesla can dominate at some point in the future, Tesla will cease to be a growth stock.
If people start to price Tesla stock on what they actually do, he’ll lose hundreds of billions of dollars.
Elon's entire schitck is selling hype. It just happens that sometimes someone else makes that into a real product. Can't just say "we're closing the production line" because that sounds bad and...
Elon's entire schitck is selling hype. It just happens that sometimes someone else makes that into a real product.
Can't just say "we're closing the production line" because that sounds bad and doesn't generate hype even if it's a personally rational business decision and not even a failure. Instead it's "We're closing the line to MAKE NEW ROBTOS" and again you're in the headline while people speculate on tech that will never exist.
The difference being that Meta still prints money and Tesla is.. well it's Tesla. Their sales are down YOY in all regions and losing ground to everyone else right quick. Tesla gave their CEO a pay...
The difference being that Meta still prints money and Tesla is.. well it's Tesla. Their sales are down YOY in all regions and losing ground to everyone else right quick.
Tesla gave their CEO a pay package larger than their actual real world revenue, not just this year, all years Tesla existed, on the sole promise he can take their stock valuation to the moon using Optimus and FSD. Neither exist in any sellable form.
Mark sinking billions into the metaverse hasn't actually done much to damage the company, aside from further poisoning the name "Meta" that is, and they're still raking in the money to blow on their next vanity project.
The secret here is that he’s spinning a line of bullshit. Tesla needs to shut down production on these because sales have cratered, the competition has caught up technology-wise, and they can’t...
The secret here is that he’s spinning a line of bullshit. Tesla needs to shut down production on these because sales have cratered, the competition has caught up technology-wise, and they can’t justify the investment in updating these older, expensive models to keep them relevant. Luxury buyers have better options now, the only place they can be competitive is at the econo-box tier. It’s a bad sign if Tesla feels like it cannot compete with what Audi/BMW/Mercedes are offering. Their whole growth story depends on them learning how to do what traditional car-makers do well before traditional car-makers can learn to do the software and battery technology that is Tesla’s strength. If Tesla can’t do that they’re cooked. If Honda and Toyota weren’t so behind on the EV transition Tesla would be cooked already.
But he can’t outright admit that the company is in dire straits, so to try and head off investor panic he’s trying to spin it as a strategic pivot to humanoid robots. A strategic pivot to automated golf-carts would probably be more plausible as that at least has a proven and addressable market, but he’s a child who needs to pursue the coolest next thing so he can’t think like that.
I believe this is being done because part of Musk's (insane) compensation target for 2035 of 1 trillion dollars had some huge number of robot shipments attached to it. The S and X models were...
I believe this is being done because part of Musk's (insane) compensation target for 2035 of 1 trillion dollars had some huge number of robot shipments attached to it. The S and X models were already dead and barley being produced as far as I was aware. I supect this was just a way to publicly spin it so it didn't look like they both failed with older, cooler models and need to push to get Elon his undeserved trillion payout.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk said on Wednesday that the automaker is ending production of its Model S and X vehicles, and will use the factory in Fremont, California, to build Optimus humanoid robots.
[...]
After the original Roadster, the two models are Tesla’s oldest vehicles, and in recent years the company has slashed prices as global competition for electric vehicles has soared. Tesla started selling the Model S sedan in 2012, and the Model X SUV three years later.
On Tesla’s website, the Model S currently starts at about $95,000, while the Model X starts at around $100,000
Tesla’s far more popular models are the 3 and Y, which accounted for 97% of the company’s 1.59 million deliveries last year. The Model 3 now starts at about $37,000, and the Model Y is around $40,000. Tesla debuted more affordable versions of the vehicles late last year.
Tesla's timelines tend to be complete nonsense, but "this quarter" is a lot sooner than their usual "next year", and if they're already rebuilding a factory, maybe they're telling the truth for...
The company said in the release that it plans to unveil the third generation of Optimus this quarter, its “first design meant for mass production.”
Tesla's timelines tend to be complete nonsense, but "this quarter" is a lot sooner than their usual "next year", and if they're already rebuilding a factory, maybe they're telling the truth for once.
But are we actually there yet, where we have the technology to build a humanoid robot good enough for mass production? I doubt it. This could be another Cybertruck-level disaster, where they dedicate an entire factory to churn out a product no-one wants.
Right, I think there's something to keep an eye on here. There's been a surge in interest in humanoid robotics and Tesla is far from the only company working on it. Of course jumping straight to...
Right, I think there's something to keep an eye on here. There's been a surge in interest in humanoid robotics and Tesla is far from the only company working on it. Of course jumping straight to selling to consumers wouldn't make sense as there's no appetite for it, but in the B2B space there might be some companies that could be convinced.
Elon Musk I'm sure keeps close tabs on what Chinese tech companies are doing, and if he senses room to compete and profit there, maybe there is something to it?
Benefits of robots from a business owner's perspective: They can work in the dark, long hours, no lunch breaks, no lawsuits, no unions, no strikes. Instant training and no fear of brain drain or key workers aging out of the workforce.
I totally get ending production lines for things that aren't selling. Happens with everything. But switching to humanoid robots? I know Tesla is a company that tries to be ahead of the curve. All his companies try to be that way; nothing wrong with that. But this Optimus thing seems pretty farfetched. Which wouldn't be a first for their clown of a leader, of course.
Maybe one day these will be a common feature in the household and in the workplace (and how we get to the events in one of the Animatrix short films that leads to the Matrix 😱), but I don't think that day is anytime soon.
Unfortunately, feel like workers at the Fremont factory might want to start tidying up their resumes...
This was before Elon fried his brain with ketamine. Now they squander billions building dangerous trucks nobody wants, dumb robots nobody will buy, and software that generates child pornography. Also FSD still isn't out yet.
The real shame is the shareholders enabling a man who constantly promises the moon and can barely take the stairs in the end. That childhood illusion of financial investors being these cutthroat, scrutinous masterminds was shattered pretty hard when I started peeking into how the stock market really worked.
There are basically two kinds of companies on the stock market: growth stocks and blue chip stocks.
Growth stocks are priced based on their perceived potential to grow in the future. These companies will have valuations far greater than their current profits justify because people believe they will increase their profit in the future.
Blue chip stocks are priced based on their real life performance. Nobody really expects them to be able to drastically increase their profit because they have already captured as much of the market as they can.
Musk wants to keep Tesla as a growth stock because his fortune depends on people overvaluing Tesla stock. He’s pretty much expended the hype he can generate around cars. Unless he can convince investors that there is another market that Tesla can dominate at some point in the future, Tesla will cease to be a growth stock.
If people start to price Tesla stock on what they actually do, he’ll lose hundreds of billions of dollars.
Elon's entire schitck is selling hype. It just happens that sometimes someone else makes that into a real product.
Can't just say "we're closing the production line" because that sounds bad and doesn't generate hype even if it's a personally rational business decision and not even a failure. Instead it's "We're closing the line to MAKE NEW ROBTOS" and again you're in the headline while people speculate on tech that will never exist.
It reminds me of Meta. Zuckerberg really likes virtual reality and Musk really likes robots.
The difference being that Meta still prints money and Tesla is.. well it's Tesla. Their sales are down YOY in all regions and losing ground to everyone else right quick.
Tesla gave their CEO a pay package larger than their actual real world revenue, not just this year, all years Tesla existed, on the sole promise he can take their stock valuation to the moon using Optimus and FSD. Neither exist in any sellable form.
Mark sinking billions into the metaverse hasn't actually done much to damage the company, aside from further poisoning the name "Meta" that is, and they're still raking in the money to blow on their next vanity project.
The secret here is that he’s spinning a line of bullshit. Tesla needs to shut down production on these because sales have cratered, the competition has caught up technology-wise, and they can’t justify the investment in updating these older, expensive models to keep them relevant. Luxury buyers have better options now, the only place they can be competitive is at the econo-box tier. It’s a bad sign if Tesla feels like it cannot compete with what Audi/BMW/Mercedes are offering. Their whole growth story depends on them learning how to do what traditional car-makers do well before traditional car-makers can learn to do the software and battery technology that is Tesla’s strength. If Tesla can’t do that they’re cooked. If Honda and Toyota weren’t so behind on the EV transition Tesla would be cooked already.
But he can’t outright admit that the company is in dire straits, so to try and head off investor panic he’s trying to spin it as a strategic pivot to humanoid robots. A strategic pivot to automated golf-carts would probably be more plausible as that at least has a proven and addressable market, but he’s a child who needs to pursue the coolest next thing so he can’t think like that.
I believe this is being done because part of Musk's (insane) compensation target for 2035 of 1 trillion dollars had some huge number of robot shipments attached to it. The S and X models were already dead and barley being produced as far as I was aware. I supect this was just a way to publicly spin it so it didn't look like they both failed with older, cooler models and need to push to get Elon his undeserved trillion payout.
From the article:
[...]
Tesla's timelines tend to be complete nonsense, but "this quarter" is a lot sooner than their usual "next year", and if they're already rebuilding a factory, maybe they're telling the truth for once.
But are we actually there yet, where we have the technology to build a humanoid robot good enough for mass production? I doubt it. This could be another Cybertruck-level disaster, where they dedicate an entire factory to churn out a product no-one wants.
He announced the "this quarter" thing for robo taxis in Texas too and failed to deliver by a decent margin.
Right, I think there's something to keep an eye on here. There's been a surge in interest in humanoid robotics and Tesla is far from the only company working on it. Of course jumping straight to selling to consumers wouldn't make sense as there's no appetite for it, but in the B2B space there might be some companies that could be convinced.
Hyundai, after acquiring Boston Dynamics, is planning to deploy humanoid robots in factories: https://www.axios.com/2026/01/05/hyundai-humanoid-robots-boston-dynamics
Also mentioned in the Axios article are Mercedes-Benz and BMW.
There are many Chinese companies working on robots. At CES 2026 more than half of the robotics companies were Chinese companies. https://tech.yahoo.com/articles/humanoid-showdown-chinese-firms-55-095315163.html
The Chinese company Unitree featured their dancing robots in last year's Lunar Gala event, a major nationwide televised event in China: https://interestingengineering.com/innovation/humanoid-robots-dance-chinas-new-year - I anticipate this year's event (mid-February) to have even more robot presence.
Elon Musk I'm sure keeps close tabs on what Chinese tech companies are doing, and if he senses room to compete and profit there, maybe there is something to it?
Benefits of robots from a business owner's perspective: They can work in the dark, long hours, no lunch breaks, no lawsuits, no unions, no strikes. Instant training and no fear of brain drain or key workers aging out of the workforce.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_predictions_for_autonomous_Tesla_vehicles_by_Elon_Musk
(spoiler) he's 1 for 34ish.
Here's a helpful tool: https://elontime.io
So what happens to his bizarre wish to spell 'sex' with the car model names?
That'll be a trim level for Optimus. The 3rd Generation Optimus S-EX model.
With a name like that, Tesla might not be able to keep up with the demand!