Elon Musk, once again storming the stage at a surprise all-hands meeting on Thursday night in Texas, painted a futuristic vision of the company for contending next big projects. Despite falling shares and rising concerns about the company’s direction, he hoped to reassure his employees with grand statements about the ambitious future of Tesla autonomous technologies, such as Optimus humanoid robots and Cybercab robotic taxis. Musk endorsed some bold promises for these two projects that he claims could reshape the industry.
Musk’s Reassurance & Optimus
Musk addressed Tesla employees through a live stream, saying
“hang on to your stock” in the face of a 50% drop in his company’s shares since last December. He would not allow himself to be dragged into any conversation about the company selling for half price, as Tesla’s progresses in artificial intelligence and automation would take the automaker to greater heights of corporate valuation.
One of the most striking revelations from the event was the ambitious target that Musk set for the humanoid robot Optimus. He claimed that the company is going to produce about 5,000 units this year and will scale up significantly in 2025. Musk said,
“It’s so profound and there’s no comparison with anything in the past. I think we will literally build a legion, at least one legion of robots this year and then probably 10 legions next year.”
However, he didn’t clarify what constitutes a “legion,” so the statement suggests that Tesla is moving quite aggressively toward mass production of those robots for an all-purpose AI application.
Cybercab, Future of Robotaxis?
Musk also updated Tesla’s long-awaited autonomous rideshare, the Cybercab. He promised a “revolutionary manufacturing process” that would allow the production of a robotaxi in “under five seconds,” much like the fast process followed in consumer electronics production lines. Such an operation would require Tesla to develop a massive casting machine, which is possibly a reference to the gigacasting of the company. Although earlier reports suggested that Tesla had slowed down its efforts regarding gigacasting, Musk’s comments imply that the company is now back to pushing on this manufacturing technique.
Tesla revealed the Cybercab’s concept for the first time during its 2023 “We, Robot” event. It aims to price each unit at $30,000 by 2026. Whether it can hit that number is doubtful, but Musk is still hopeful for the project’s future.
Meeting under Pressure
At Tesla, all-hands meetings usually take place within the normal business hours, but this is at a time that indicates growing pressure from several fronts. Tesla is under rising protest, market scrutiny, and analyst criticism like Wedbush’s Dan Ives, who recently questioned if Musk is losing sight of the business side in favor of political pursuits.
During the meeting’s Q&A segment, employees deliberately avoided questions regarding Musk’s political leanings; his recent advocacy for the Trump administration was particularly avoided. Everything else revolved around Tesla’s technology and business strategies.
Expanding Responsibilities
More recently, in the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), Musk has supported reduced government expenditure. His actions have been questioned, especially in light of extreme cuts to agency budgets such as the FTC and USAID. With all of these activities, Musk’s ability to deliver on Tesla’s ambitious promises has come under doubt. Even as the concepts of Optimus and Cybercab become visions full of promise, their execution will be the actual test for Tesla. For now, it remains to be seen if Tesla’s employees and investors will see any of those big promises turn into reality or be forced to accept yet another chapter in Musk’s path of unfulfilled yet intensifying promises.
