Musk: Tesla (TSLA.US) will start small-scale production of humanoids for internal use next year.

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla (TSLA.US), said on Monday that the company would begin small-scale production of humanoid robots next year for internal use. Musk also said that the company would begin large-scale production of humanoid robots in 2026, “hopefully” for other companies to use.

Musk had previously said in April that the company’s humanoid robot, named Optimus, would be able to perform tasks in Tesla factories before the end of this year, and could be available for sale as early as the end of 2025. Earlier this month, Musk said that the company’s second-generation Optimus would be designed by the end of 2024. Musk said the new design was “special,” but did not provide other details.

It was reported that the second-generation Optimus was first unveiled on Dec. 13 last year, with a demo video appearing on the social platform X. The second-generation Optimus was officially unveiled at the 2024 World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC2024) on July 4. The report said that the second-generation Optimus has improved its walking speed by 30% on the basis of standing walking, and its fingers have been “evolved” to be able to “handle” eggs and heavy objects with “ease.”

Tesla had previously said that the second-generation Optimus would be used first in its manufacturing plants, and then the company would start selling the robot once its practicality was verified. At the Tesla annual meeting last month, Musk said that the Optimus robot would bring huge profits to the company, and that more than 1,000 or several thousand Optimus robots would be working in Tesla next year. Musk further said that humanoid robots could potentially raise the company’s market value to $2.5 trillion in the future.