Musk: Tesla's humanoid robot business may be more important in the future than the car business

Tesla CEO Elon Musk reportedly told investors on Wednesday that the Optimus humanoid robot is Tesla's most important job this year, and he showed the robot last year to imitate humans dancing on stage.

Musk said humanoid robots will be very important to solve the labor shortage in the United States, and their first use will be Tesla's own factory. "Optimus is likely to be more important than the automotive business over time," he said. Musk said Tesla plans to launch a prototype device sometime in 2022.

Musk said, "The economy is based on labor, so what if there is a labor shortage?" I don't know what the economy meant at that time. That's what Optimus is all about. So very important. ”

Musk first unveiled the robot at Tesla's Artificial Intelligence Day event last August, which the automaker intends to let it take over the dangerous, repetitive physical work of humans in the future. Tesla said Optimus, also known as Tesla Robotics, will use the same artificial intelligence systems as driver assistance technologies such as Tesla's autopilot.

Musk also said Tesla is addressing supply chain issues that will affect production this year and will not launch any new models because Tesla will focus on boosting production at new factories.