Musk Promises 2024 “Optimus Bots” Ahead of Tomorrow’s Crucial Earnings Call (Stock Jumps +4%)

Elon Musk is already up and at ’em this Monday morning. His latest tweet, now viral, reveals that Tesla will be rolling out humanoid robots for internal use next year. Yes, those long-promised Optimus bots are finally stepping out of the shadows and into the factories.

Posting on his rebranded social media platform X— which he famously bought for $44 billion in 2022— Musk hinted that by the end of next year, these bots might be available to other companies as well. But let's not get ahead of ourselves—Elon's timelines are as flexible as a yoga instructor.

Back in April, Musk had us dreaming of robots folding laundry and sweeping floors by the end of this year, with sales kicking off in late 2025. Optimus is supposed to handle repetitive tasks, the kind that make humans daydream about more exciting jobs—or naps.

If this sounds familiar, it’s because other giants like Honda and Boston Dynamics have been dancing around this idea for years. They're all betting big on robots to fill labor gaps and tackle mundane tasks in logistics, warehousing, and manufacturing.

But let’s not forget, Musk’s promises can be a bit like my mother-in-law’s New Year’s resolutions—ambitious but rarely on schedule. Remember the "robotaxi" network he promised by 2020? Fast forward four years, and we're still waiting for those driverless wonders.

Just last week, Musk mentioned he’d requested a “design change” for the robotaxi, pushing its debut even further down the road. “Requested what I think is an important design change to the front, and extra time allows us to show off a few other things,” he explained, causing shareholders to grimace once again. Classic Elon.

Tesla's first Optimus bot, charmingly named Bumblebee (because why wouldn’t he name it after a movie), made its debut in September 2022. This year, a new-and-improved version was spotted folding a T-shirt—clearly gearing up for its gig as the world’s fanciest laundromat assistant.

Amidst cooling demand for EVs, which still make up the lion's share of Tesla’s revenue, Musk is pivoting hard towards AI, autonomous driving, robotaxis, and, of course, our new robot overlords, Optimus.

With Tesla’s second-quarter results just around the corner, Wall Street is bracing for some of the slimmest margins in over five years. Yet, shareholders are glued to Musk's grand plans for AI and robotics, hoping THIS time, Musk isn’t crying wolf.

Tesla's stock is up over 4% on the news today, and has climbed 37% this month.

Stock.News has positions in Tesla.