Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk said on Tuesday that early production of the company’s Cybercab robotaxi and Optimus humanoid robot will be “agonizingly slow” before accelerating over time, underscoring the manufacturing challenges behind two projects central to Tesla’s long-term ambitions.
Responding on X to a post suggesting Cybercab production could begin in less than 100 days, Musk said the speed of any production ramp depends heavily on complexity. “Production speed is inversely proportional to the number of new parts and manufacturing steps,” he wrote. “For Cybercab and Optimus, almost everything is new, so the early production rate will be agonizingly slow, but eventually end up being insanely fast.”
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Much of Tesla’s roughly $1.39 trillion market valuation is tied to investor expectations around self-driving technology and humanoid robots, even as the bulk of the company’s current revenue and profit continues to come from electric vehicle sales.
The Cybercab is a two-seat vehicle designed without manual controls such as a steering wheel or pedals. Tesla has previously said it aims to begin volume production of the vehicle in 2026. Musk has also said output of the Optimus humanoid robot could start “hopefully” toward the end of that year.
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Tesla has been gradually expanding real-world testing of its autonomous driving technology. In December, Musk said the company was testing robotaxis without safety monitors in the front passenger seat. Last year, Tesla launched a limited robotaxi service in Austin, using Model Y vehicles equipped with a version of its Full Self-Driving software. Those early deployments were geo-fenced and included a human safety monitor.
Musk has repeatedly described Optimus as central to Tesla’s long-term strategy, arguing that humanoid robots could eventually surpass the company’s vehicle business by taking on tasks that are dangerous, repetitive or undesirable for humans.
