Elon Musk says Tesla will sell humanoid robots to public by 2027, expects FSD approval next month

Davos-Musk expects Europe, China to approve Tesla's FSD system next month

Jan 22 (Reuters) - Tesla (TSLA.O), opens new tab is likely to win regulatory approval in Europe and China for its Full Self-Driving system as early as next month, CEO Elon Musk said on Thursday, as the electric automaker looks to boost software revenue amid slowing vehicle sales. The approvals would be crucial for Tesla, which is under pressure to generate revenue from software and services and is looking to monetize FSD outside the U.S. "We hope to get Supervised Full Self-Driving approval in Europe, hopefully next month, and then maybe a similar timing, timing for China," Musk said at his first appearance at the World Economic Forum in Davos. Shares of the automaker rose about 1.5% after the comment. Tesla has been seeking approval for the FSD system in Europe, where tougher vehicle safety rules and a fragmented regulatory framework have slowed deployment compared with the U.S. Musk has been pitching Tesla as a company whose growth lies in humanoid robots and self-driving vehicles, even though it makes a big share of its money from the electric-vehicle business, which faces intense competition and brand ⁠hit in some markets. Registration of Tesla's vehicles fell 11.4% in California last year, with its market share in the U.S. state slipping below 50%, according to a report by the California New Car Dealers Association. The company reported a second consecutive drop in vehicle deliveries in 2025, ceding its position as the largest electric vehicle maker in the world to China's BYD (002594.SZ), opens new tab after several years in the pole position. The system, which Tesla markets as Full Self-Driving, is classified as an advanced driver assistance feature that requires drivers to remain attentive, and regulators have scrutinized it amid concerns over ⁠the safety and oversight of ⁠automated driving technologies. Musk has repeatedly said much of the artificial intelligence developed for autonomous vehicles will also underpin Tesla's planned humanoid robots. Musk said on Thursday that he expects robots to outnumber humans. "We do have some Tesla Optimus robots doing simple tasks in the factory," he said, adding that Tesla expects to sell humanoid robots to the public by the end of next year, later than the timeline he had previously outlined. Industry experts and executives have said scaling humanoid robots for real-world use is technically complex, in part because of a lack of data needed to train the AI models that underpin robot behavior. "For Optimus, what they (the market) need is credible evidence of scalable manufacturing, a regulatory path, and unit economics if possible," said Ken Mahoney, CEO of Tesla shareholder Mahoney Asset Management Reporting by Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab * Suggested Topics: * Davos * ADAS, AV & Safety * Software-Defined Vehicle * Sustainable & EV Supply Chain * EV Battery Akash Sriram Thomson Reuters Akash reports on technology companies in the United States, electric vehicle companies, and the space industry. His reporting usually appears in the Autos & Transportation and Technology sections. He has a postgraduate degree in Conflict, Development, and Security from the University of Leeds. Akash's interests include music, football (soccer), and Formula 1.

You might actually be able to buy a Tesla robot in 2027

Elon Musk promises Optimus humanoid robots will go on sale by year's end, if reliability and safety checks out Tesla CEO Elon Musk has once again laid out an ambitious timeline for the company's long-awaited humanoid robot, Optimus. Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Musk said Tesla plans to begin selling Optimus robots to the public by the end of 2027, assuming the machines reach the levels of reliability, safety, and functionality the company is targeting. The comments follow a series of years-long development milestones. Optimus, which was originally unveiled as the Tesla Bot in 2021, has undergone multiple prototype iterations and has already been pressed into service handling simple tasks in Tesla factories. According to Musk, those internal deployments will expand in complexity later this year, helping prepare the robotics platform for broader use. Ambition Meets Reality in Robotics Musk's timeline is bold by any industry standard. Humanoid robotics has long struggled with major challenges across hardware design, artificial intelligence, and large-scale manufacturing. Speaking at Davos, Musk stressed that Optimus won't go on sale simply to meet a deadline. Instead, he said consumer availability will depend on the robots proving themselves reliable and safe, adding that sales would only begin once reliability and functionality are "very high." Tesla's long-term vision for Optimus goes far beyond factory work. Musk has described a future where humanoid robots handle everyday tasks such as household chores and elder care, eventually becoming as common and useful as personal computers or smartphones. He has even suggested that one day there could be "more robots than people," underscoring how central he believes robotics will be to everyday life. That optimism comes with real skepticism, though. The last public demonstrations of Optimus revealed that the robots were being remotely piloted by human operators, not acting autonomously. Combined with Musk's history of aggressive timelines, many experts remain cautious, noting that true general-purpose humanoid robots are still an unsolved problem. For now, Musk says commercial deployments could begin in 2026, with public sales following in 2027, but only if Tesla is confident the robots meet strict standards for reliability, safety, and functionality. Whether that's a realistic caution or a built-in hedge against delays remains to be seen.

Elon Musk Predicts AI Will Outpace Human Intelligence as Early as This Year

Musk said electricity generation, not chips or models, is the main bottleneck slowing AI deployment. Elon Musk said Thursday that artificial intelligence could surpass human intelligence as soon as this year, arguing that progress toward artificial general intelligence is accelerating faster than humanity is prepared for. The comments by the Tesla, SpaceX, and xAI CEO came during a wide-ranging conversation with BlackRock CEO Larry Fink at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Thursday. "I think we might have AI that is smarter than any human by the end of this year," Musk said. "No later than next year." He added that by around 2030 or 2031, AI could become "smarter than all of humanity collectively." Musk's comments place him among a growing group of tech CEOs who say AGI will arrive within years, not decades, raising concerns about labor disruption, governance, and economic concentration. He said the economic impact of AI will depend less on software alone, and more on the deployment of humanoid robots capable of performing physical work at scale. "If you have ubiquitous AI that is essentially free or close to it, and ubiquitous robotics, then you will have an explosion in the global economy," he said. Musk also repeated his view that humanoid robots will eventually outnumber humans. "My prediction, in the benign scenario of the future, is that we will make so many robots and AI that they will saturate all human needs," Musk said. Tesla, Musk added, has already begun using early versions of its Optimus humanoid robot in factories, where they are performing simple tasks, with more complex tasks planned by the end of 2026. The company also plans to sell humanoid robots to the public by the end of next year, Musk said, once safety and reliability targets are met. Some researchers have previously questioned Musk's timelines, citing unresolved safety, cost, and engineering challenges. "Elon has a track record of overoptimistic predictions about AI," Gary Marcus, a cognitive scientist and professor emeritus of psychology and neural science at New York University, previously told Decrypt. "It's just fantasy to imagine selling 200 times as many humanoid robots in the nearish term when nobody knows how to build a single safe, reliable, generally useful humanoid right now, at any price." Musk acknowledged the risks posed by a proliferation of humanoid robots, but said progress in AI and robotics is compounding. The main constraint in deployment is power, he explained, highlighting the need to shift to solar power. "Solar is by far the biggest source of energy. When you look beyond Earth, the sun rounds up to 100% of all energy. The sun is 99.8% of the mass of the solar system. Jupiter is about 0.1%, and everything else is miscellaneous," he said. "Even if you were to burn Jupiter in a thermonuclear reactor, the amount of energy produced by the sun would still round up to 100%." He argued that large-scale solar deployment will determine how quickly AI systems can expand; however, Musk said advanced AI and robotics must be developed carefully. "We need to be very careful with AI. We need to be very careful with robotics," he said. "We don't want to find ourselves in a James Cameron movie...'Terminator.'" Despite these concerns, Musk closed by encouraging optimism about the future of AI and humanoid robotics. "For quality of life, it is actually better to err on the side of being an optimist and wrong," he said, "rather than a pessimist and right."

Tesla to sell Optimus robots to public next year, Musk says

Tesla will probably sell its Optimus robots to the public by the end of next year, according to CEO Elon Musk, who's 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, Musk said Thursday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. He predicted Optimus would be "doing more complex tasks" by the end of 2026. 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," Musk said. The comments offer a more concrete timeline for the future business line, which Musk sees as a key focus for Tesla going forward, alongside artificial intelligence and autonomous vehicles. The automaker's core business of selling cars has suffered from a stale product lineup and the loss of EV incentives in the U.S., leading to two consecutive years of declining deliveries. While Musk regularly talks up the potential of Optimus, he's 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. Musk has cautioned that initial production of Optimus and Tesla's newest vehicle, the Cybercab, will be "agonizingly slow." Musk's appearance in Davos came as a surprise after the world's richest man was confirmed as a last-minute addition to Thursday's schedule. He'd previously criticized the forum, calling the annual gathering of the world's elite "boring" and slammed the WEF as a body that's "increasingly becoming an unelected world government that the people never asked for and don't want." "How is WEF/Davos even a thing? Are they trying to be the boss of Earth!?" he posted on social media in 2022. Musk touched on a variety of topics in his conversation with BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, including data centers in space, robotaxis and power-generation bottlenecks.

Davos 2026: Humanoid robots a must for Musk by next year as Tesla CEO eyes Europe, China nod for self-driving system

Tesla plans to offer its Optimus robots to consumers by the end of next year. Elon Musk also anticipates regulatory approval for the company's Full Self-Driving system in Europe and China within the next month. These developments come as Tesla seeks to diversify revenue streams beyond its electric vehicle sales. Tesla is looking to sell sell its Optimus robots to the public by the end of next year, according to chief executive officer Elon Musk, who's 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, Musk said Thursday at the WEF. He predicted Optimus would be "doing more complex tasks" by the end of 2026. Check all latest developments related to Davos 2026 here 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," Musk said. The comments offer a more concrete timeline for the future business line, which Musk sees as a key focus for Tesla going forward, alongside artificial intelligence and autonomous vehicles. The automaker's core business of selling cars has suffered from a stale product lineup and the loss of EV incentives in the US, leading to two consecutive years of declining deliveries. While Musk regularly talks up the potential of Optimus, he's 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. Meanwhile, Tesla is likely to win regulatory approval in Europe and China for its Full Self-Driving (FSD) system as early as next month, said Musk as the electric automaker looks to boost software revenue amid slowing vehicle sales. Musk also expects to sell humanoid robots to the public by the end of next year. The approvals would be crucial for Tesla, which is under pressure to generate revenue from software and services and is looking to monetise FSD outside the US. "We hope to get Supervised Full Self-Driving approval in Europe, hopefully next month, and then may be a similar timing for China," Musk said. Shares of the automaker rose about 1.5% after the comment. Tesla has been seeking approval for the FSD system in Europe, where tougher vehicle safety rules and a fragmented regulatory framework have slowed deployment compared with the US The Dutch vehicle authority RDW said in November it expects to decide on FSD software in February. Tesla had said once it secures approval in the Netherlands, other EU countries can recognize the exemption and allow a rollout ahead of a formal EU approval. Musk has been positioning Tesla as a self-driving and humanoid robotics company, even as most of its revenue still comes from its EV business, which faces stiff competition. Registration of Tesla's vehicles fell 11.4% in California last year, with its market share in the US state slipping below 50%, according to a report by the California New Car Dealers Association. The company reported a second consecutive drop in vehicle deliveries in 2025, ceding its position as the largest electric vehicle maker in the world to China's BYD. (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel)

Elon Musk Says Tesla Could Start Selling Humanoid Robots Next Year, Gene Munster Calls It A 'Slight Positive' For This Reason - Reddit (NYSE:RDDT), Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA)

On Thursday, Elon Musk gave wide-ranging remarks that included new timelines for Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) humanoid robot and Full Self-Driving software. Musk Teases Optimus Sales Timeline At Davos Making a surprise debut at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Musk said Tesla could begin selling its humanoid robot, Optimus, "probably sometime next year." Musk has been talking about Optimus since 2021 and has repeatedly framed the robot as a product that could eventually reshape the global economy. Despite the bold claims, reports suggest Tesla is still working through technical hurdles, including challenges related to Optimus' hands. On the other hand, China's Unitree Robotics shipped over 5,500 full-body humanoid robots in 2025, far surpassing U.S. competitors like Tesla, Figure AI and Agility Robotics, which each shipped about 150 units, reported South China Morning Post earlier this week. According to Counterpoint Research, in 2025, approximately 16,000 more humanoid robots were deployed globally, with China responsible for over 80% of these installations. FSD Approval Hints Lift Near-Term Optimism Musk also said Tesla hopes to receive regulatory approval as early as next month to deploy its driver-supervised Full Self-Driving system in Europe, with China potentially following on a similar timeline. "We hope to get supervised Full Self-Driving approval in Europe, hopefully next month, and then maybe a similar timing for China," Musk said. How Investors And Tech Leaders Reacted Deepwater Asset Management's managing partner Gene Munster said the market reaction reflected cautious optimism rather than exuberance. In a post on X, Munster called Musk's comments "slightly positive," noting that even limited Optimus sales would represent meaningful progress. Tesla shares rose more than 4% during Thursday's regular session, outpacing the Nasdaq's gains, according to Benzinga Pro. In after-hours trading, Tesla shares are up 0.25%. However, not all reactions were serious. When Musk suggested it would be a "no-brainer" to build solar-powered AI data centers in space, Reddit Inc. (NYSE:RDDT) co-founder Alexis Ohanian responded on X with a quip: "Data centers in space, you say?" Tesla is scheduled to report fourth-quarter results and host its earnings call on Wednesday, Jan. 28, at 5:30 p.m. ET, covering the company's financial performance for the quarter ended in December. Tesla maintains a stronger price trend over medium and long terms, but negative in short term with a poor value ranking. Additional performance details, as per Benzinga's Edge Stock Rankings. Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors. Photo Courtesy: Iv-olga on Shutterstock.com RDDTReddit Inc $214.54-% Overview TSLATesla Inc $450.480.25% Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs

AI could be smarter than all of humanity in five years, says Elon Musk

Elon Musk believes artificial intelligence will soon be smarter than all humans combined. This advancement will reshape jobs and life's purpose. Musk also noted energy shortages could limit AI growth. He suggested space could become the cheapest location for AI systems. Tesla's humanoid robots and self-driving technology are also progressing rapidly. Tesla CEO Elon Musk said artificial intelligence (AI) is on track to become smarter than all of humanity combined within the next five years -- a shift he believes will change how people work, move and even find purpose. Speaking at the World Economic Forum in a conversation with BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, Musk said AI is advancing faster than many expect. He predicted that AI could be "smarter than any individual human this year," and become "smarter than all of humanity combined" within the decade. Also Read: Davos 2026: AI is changing who becomes an entrepreneur, experts say Musk linked that trajectory to the rise of humanoid robots, which he said could dramatically expand economic output. Tesla's Optimus robots, he said, are already performing simple tasks in factories, with more advanced capabilities expected soon. "If things go well, we expect to sell humanoid robots to the public by the end of next year," Musk said, adding that safety would be critical before any wider rollout. On autonomous driving, Musk said Tesla's Full Self-Driving software has reached a level where insurers are offering significant discounts to customers using it. He said Tesla is seeking regulatory approval to expand supervised self-driving in Europe, potentially as early as next month, followed by China. "If regulated and supervised, it will be widespread," Musk said. Also Read: AI poised to disrupt jobs, top executives warn at Davos 2026 While much of the discussion focused on AI's potential, Musk warned that energy -- not computing power -- could become the biggest constraint on progress. He said electricity generation is not scaling fast enough to keep pace with AI infrastructure, particularly in the United States. "AI chips are being produced faster than we can power them," Musk said, pointing to solar energy as the most viable solution at scale. He noted that China is deploying solar capacity far more rapidly, while tariffs and policy barriers are slowing adoption elsewhere. Looking further ahead, Musk said space could ultimately be the cheapest place to run large-scale AI systems. Solar panels in orbit, he said, generate more energy than those on Earth, while the cold vacuum of space offers natural cooling for data centres. "The lowest-cost place to put AI will be space," Musk said, predicting that solar-powered AI infrastructure in orbit could emerge within the next few years. Also Read: Davos 2026: India is emerging as a manufacturing hub for electronics, Qualcomm CEO says Musk also spoke about SpaceX's efforts to achieve full rocket reusability with its Starship vehicle, which he said could reduce the cost of access to space by a factor of 100 if successful. Asked what continues to motivate him, Musk pointed to curiosity and a desire to understand reality. When asked whether he would personally go to Mars, he replied: "Yes, but just not on impact." (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel)

Elon Musk Says Tesla Will Sell Humanoid Robots to Public by Late 2027 | PYMNTS.com

"That's when we are confident that it's very high reliability, very high safety, and the range of functionality is also very high -- you can basically ask it to do anything you'd like," Musk said while speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Tesla already has Optimus humanoid robots performing simple tasks in its factories, and the company expects those robots to be doing more complex tasks within that industrial environment by the end of this year, Musk said. Musk had predicted in June 2024 that Tesla would have "genuinely useful humanoid robots" in low production for use in its facilities by 2025. PYMNTS reported in November that physical artificial intelligence is emerging as the next stage of robotics and will provide a new workforce layer. In February, PYMNTS reported that Tesla is one of several companies that are working to produce AI-powered robots that will perform general tasks such as household chores. Looking further in the future, Musk said Thursday that he predicts that at some point, robots will outnumber people. "My prediction is, in the benign scenario of the future, that we will actually make so many robots and AI that they will actually saturate all human needs, meaning you won't be able to even think of something to ask the robot for at a certain point," Musk said. "There will be such an abundance of goods and services... My prediction is there will be more robots than people." Musk also said during Thursday's conversation at the World Economic Forum that there might be AI that is smarter than any human by the end of the year, and no later than 2027, and that AI will be smarter than all of humanity collectively by 2030 or 2031. To provide the power that is needed by AI, Tesla and SpaceX teams are working separately to build 100 gigawatts a year of manufactured solar power in the United States, Musk said. They expect to achieve that capacity in about three years. For all PYMNTS AI coverage, subscribe to the daily AI Newsletter.

Musk to sell humanoid robots to public by end of next year - The Korea Times

SpaceX and xAI CEO Elon Musk speaks during a panel discussion during the 56th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF), in Davos, Switzerland, Thursday. EPA-Yonhap DAVOS, Switzerland -- Elon Musk sees his humanoid robots hitting the market next year, one of several "optimistic" forecasts by the U.S. tech mogul at his first-ever Davos appearance on Thursday. In front of a packed conference hall, Musk had a chance to tear into a World Economic Forum he has long derided as a "boring" confab of out-of-touch elites. But in a remarkably subdued "conversation" with WEF interim chair Larry Fink -- also the CEO of investment behemoth BlackRock -- Musk stuck to his script of optimistic enthusiasm for AI, robotics and space travel. He was not pressed for example on the scandal caused by sexualised deepfakes of his Grok AI tool, or claims of persistent fake news spread by his X social network. "Who wouldn't want a robot to watch over your kids, take care of your pet... If you had a robot that could take care and protect an elderly parent, that'd be great," he told the audience. His Optimus robots will be doing more complex tasks later this year, he said, and "by the end of next year I think we'll be selling humanoid robots to the public." Musk also predicted the artificial intelligence boom will have models that are "smarter than any human by the end of this year, and I would say no later than next year." "And then probably by 2030 or 2031, so five years from now, AI will be smarter than all of humanity collectively." But he ended his talk with a caveat: "Generally, I think that for quality of life, it is actually better to err on the side of being an optimist and wrong, rather than being a pessimist and right."

Elon Musk says AI will outsmart humans by the end of this year By Investing.com

Investing.com -- Tesla CEO Elon Musk outlined his vision for AI, robotics, and space exploration during a conversation with BlackRock CEO Larry Fink at the World Economic Forum in Davos. Musk revealed that Tesla plans to begin selling humanoid robots to the public by the end of next year, once the company is confident in their reliability and safety. Some Tesla Optimus robots are already performing simple tasks in factories, with more complex capabilities expected by the end of this year. On autonomous driving, Musk claimed self-driving cars are "essentially a solved problem," with Tesla's Full Self-Driving software sometimes updated weekly. He noted some insurance companies are offering half-price insurance to customers using Tesla's Full Self-Driving technology due to its safety record. Tesla has rolled out robotaxi service in several cities and expects widespread deployment in the US by the end of this year, with supervised full self-driving approval in Europe potentially coming next month. Regarding space exploration, Musk said SpaceX hopes to achieve full rocket reusability this year with Starship, which he described as "the largest flying machine ever made." This breakthrough would reduce the cost of access to space by a factor of 100, bringing it below $100 per pound. Musk also discussed plans to launch solar-powered AI satellites within a few years, noting that solar panels in space are five times more effective than on Earth due to constant sunlight and no atmospheric interference. He predicted that "the lowest cost place to put AI will be space" within two to three years. On energy production, Musk stated that a 100-mile by 100-mile area of solar panels could power the entire United States, and that SpaceX and Tesla teams are separately working to build manufacturing capacity for 100 gigawatts of solar power per year in the US within about three years. Looking ahead, Musk predicted AI could become "smarter than any human by the end of this year" or "no later than next year." He described his companies' overall goal as maximizing "the probability that civilization has a great future" and extending "consciousness beyond Earth."

Tesla aims to release Optimus robots publicly by end of next year, Elon Musk says

He claimed the robots are already doing simple tasks inside Tesla factories, although there is no evidence to confirm this. Elon Musk announced at the World Economic Forum in Davos that Tesla plans to sell its Optimus humanoid robot to the public by the end of next year. The announcement quickly grabbed attention, even though Musk is well known for setting bold timelines that rarely happen on time. Optimus is designed to be a general-purpose humanoid robot, capable of performing the same tasks humans can. As usual, Musk gave himself a way out if the robots don't start rolling out the assembly line in 2027, saying they will only be released when Tesla is sure they are very reliable, very safe, and can do a lot of things. Also read: Ubisoft cancels Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time remake and 5 other games: Here's why Musk said the robots will only be released when Tesla is "confident that it's very high reliability, very high safety and the range of functionality is also very high." He claimed the robots are already doing simple tasks inside Tesla factories, although there is no evidence to confirm this. Musk earlier said Optimus could be ready for commercial use in 2026, which is this year, and well, that is not gonna happen. Also, the program head of the project, Milan Kovac, recently left the company. Interestingly, Tesla's stock rose more than three percent after Musk's announcement, reports Engadget. Also read: Meta's new Superintelligence Labs team delivers its first AI models internally, CTO reveals Musk also spoke about Tesla's Cybercab, saying production would begin in April with a goal of making two million units per year. While this plan seems more realistic than humanoid robots, questions remain about demand, since the Cybercab seats only two people and has no steering wheel.