Photograph: Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP via Getty ImagesTesla will probably sell its Optimus robots to the public by the end of next year, according to chief executive Elon Musk, who has said the carmaker’s fortunes will be increasingly dependent on humanoid machines. The company is already using some of the robots to do simple tasks in its factory, Mr Musk said Thursday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Sales to the public will begin when Tesla is “confident that it’s very high reliability, very high safety, and the range of functionality is also very high”, Mr Musk said. While Mr Musk regularly talks up the potential of Optimus, he has been relatively vague about production timelines and targets. During a January 2025 earnings call, he said his “very rough guess” was that Tesla would start delivering Optimus robots to other companies in the second half of 2026.

Source: The Irish Times January 22, 2026 21:18 UTC