Elon Musk: Tesla’s Optimus Robots to Become ‘Incredible Surgeons’

Tesla's Optimus robots to become "incredible surgeons," says Elon Musk.

Tesla’s Optimus robots are set to become “incredible surgeons,” according to the company’s CEO, Elon Musk, during a third-quarter earnings call, reports CNBC.

He refrained from discussing electric vehicle demand, Cybertruck prospects, the impact of tariffs on auto parts, or fourth-quarter forecasts. Instead, he made a series of bold statements and presented a futuristic vision for business development.

Robotaxis

Musk began with the topic of robotaxis, emphasizing that skeptical investors and the general public underestimate the scale of upcoming changes.

“People don’t fully realize how quickly this will happen—like a shockwave. We already have millions of cars that can become fully autonomous with a software update; we produce a couple of million such vehicles a year,” the billionaire stated.

In April 2022, Musk predicted that by 2023, the company’s robot business would be worth more than its automotive and Full Self-Driving (FSD) technology.

On Wednesday, the entrepreneur announced that Tesla’s robotaxi service would begin operations in Austin by the end of the year.

In June, the company launched driverless test rides. The firm faced an investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration following alleged rule violations.

Tesla’s CFO Vaibhav Taneja noted that the customer base for the FSD system is “still small”: 12% of users pay for access.

Robot Surgeon

After discussing robotaxis, Musk moved on to humanoid robots, reiterating that the Optimus project “has the potential to become the most significant product of all time.”

“Optimus will be an incredible surgeon,” the billionaire said.

According to him, the combination of bots and autonomous driving “will create a world where everyone has access to the best medical care.”

Tesla will unveil a new version of the humanoid robot, Optimus V3, in the first quarter of 2026.

In September, Musk stated that Optimus would account for up to 80% of the company’s value.

Chips

The upcoming Tesla AI chip—AI5—will be manufactured by Samsung in Texas and TSMC in Arizona, the company head announced.

He said Tesla intends to create “excess capacity”—chips not used in cars or robots are planned for use in data centers.

“Our goal is to have a surplus of AI5 chips,” Musk said.

The entrepreneur emphasized that he will continue to use Nvidia graphics processors for AI model training.

“We are not going to replace Nvidia, but will use both technologies in tandem,” he clarified.

Billionaire-Trillionaire

In September, Tesla unveiled a new compensation plan for Musk, which could reach $1 trillion and increase his stake in the firm to 12%. A vote on the initiative will take place at the annual shareholders’ meeting in early November.

“If we are creating an army of robots, should I have significant influence over it? I’m uncomfortable doing this without having leverage,” the entrepreneur noted.

Back in June 2024, Musk claimed that humanoid robots Optimus would drive Tesla’s market capitalization to $25 trillion.