A model of Tesla Inc.’s planned humanoid robot Optimus is on display at the Seoul Mobile Show on Thursday, March 30, 2023, in Goyang, South Korea. Getty Images
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The total value of the S&P 500 is currently $45.5 trillion, according to FactSet. Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk claimed on Thursday that his company’s Optimus humanoid robot could eventually cost the automaker more than half its market value.
At the 2024 annual shareholder meeting in Austin, Texas, Musk, who described himself as “morbidly optimistic,” said Tesla was not only starting a “new chapter” in its life but was about to write a book Brand new “new book”. Optimus Prime seems to be one of the main characters.
Tesla first revealed its plans to develop humanoid robots at an Artificial Intelligence Day event in 2021, featuring a dancer in a leotard that looked like a sleek, androgynous robot.
In January, Tesla showed off its Optimus robot’s ability to fold clothes in a demo video that was immediately criticized by robotics engineers as deceptive. These robots are not autonomous but are operated under human control.
At Thursday’s shareholder meeting, Musk didn’t say what Optimus could do today. He suggested that these droids could one day function like R2-D2 and C-3PO from Star Wars. They could cook or clean for you, work in a factory, or even teach your children, Musk suggested.
As for shareholder value, Musk said Optimus could be the catalyst for Tesla’s market value to one day reach $25 trillion.
Speaking to a crowd of mostly sycophantic fans in the Gigafactory auditorium, Musk promised Tesla would “limit production” of Optimus Prime by 2025 and test humanoid robots at its own factories next year .
He predicted that by 2025, “Tesla will have over 1,000 or thousands of Optimus robots.”
That’s a long shot even for Musk, who’s notorious for making ambitious promises to investors and customers that ultimately don’t come to fruition – from developing a system that could turn existing Teslas into ones with upload capabilities. Functional software for self-driving cars, to electric vehicle battery swapping stations.
A market cap of $25 trillion would mean Tesla’s market cap would be about eight times greater apple Today’s value. The iPhone maker is now the world’s largest company by market capitalization, ahead of only Microsoft.
As of Thursday’s close, Tesla was valued at about $580 billion, ranking 10th in the S&P 500 Index.
Musk did not provide a timetable for reaching $25 trillion. He did say that self-driving cars could give the company a market value of $5 trillion to $7 trillion.
Musk said he agreed with the data given by Cathie Wood, chief executive of ARK Invest, a long-term bullish on Tesla. This week, ARK set a $2,600 price target on Tesla stock through 2029, betting on the commercial robotaxi business the company has yet to enter.
Wood’s price target is equivalent to Tesla’s market capitalization of more than $8 trillion.
Musk’s comments at the annual meeting came after shareholders voted to reinstate the CEO’s $56 billion compensation plan, five months after a Delaware court ordered the company to revoke the plan. The crowd cheered as the proposals were read aloud and preliminary results announced.
After reading out the shareholder vote, Musk took the stage and said, “I just want to say something passionate! I love you.”
Tesla shares have fallen 27% this year, with the company citing declining sales in part as an aging electric vehicle lineup and intensifying competition in China. The company also implemented significant layoffs. Musk encouraged investors to look beyond current business conditions and focus more on the future of autonomous driving, robotics and artificial intelligence.
One of Musk’s boldest statements on Thursday was his claim that Tesla has gone above and beyond in silicon development so far. Nvidia When it comes to inference, or the process of drawing conclusions from new material when a trained machine learning model is used.
Nvidia shares have soared nearly ninefold since the end of 2022, driven by demand for artificial intelligence chips. The company is currently valued at approximately $3.2 trillion.
One concern surrounding Musk is how focused he is on Tesla, given all his other commitments. He owns and operates social media company X, is CEO of SpaceX, and founded The Boring Co. and Neuralink. Last March, he launched another startup, xAI, which recently raised $6 billion in venture capital.
A shareholder asked Musk at the meeting how important he personally was to Tesla’s future.
“I am a strong promoter of this future,” he said, emphasizing his role in innovation.
When it comes to humanoid robots, other companies, including tech startups, are chasing the market, he said. Competitors include Boston Dynamics, Agility, Neura and Apptronik.
“What’s really important is whether we can be faster than everyone else and get our product done years earlier than them and do it better,” Musk said.
watch: Tesla shareholders approve Musk’s $56 billion compensation package