Elon Musk said Tesla’s future will rely 80% on its robot project Optimus, not cars

Tesla boss Elon Musk said Monday that the company’s future isn’t tied to cars anymore. Speaking just after releasing a new “master plan,” Elon said that 80% of Tesla’s value will come from Optimus, the humanoid robot project he first introduced in 2021.

That’s a major change for a company that still doesn’t make a dollar from robots. This statement, reported by Bloomberg, came as Tesla publicly acknowledged, for the first time, that robots are part of its core future plans. Elon wrote on X, the social platform Elon, that:

Optimus is still under construction, not ready for delivery, and years away from generating revenue. But that didn’t stop Elon from putting it at the center of Tesla’s valuation going forward.

Elon shifts attention from EV plans that fell short

This new robot-first mindset came right after the release of Tesla’s latest master plan. Elon’s first plan, released in 2006, focused on building an expensive electric sports car and using the profits to make cheaper models.

That plan was actually followed. But the second plan, published in 2016, still hasn’t been completed. It promised electric trucks and buses, fully self-driving cars, and an autonomous ride-hailing platform. Almost none of that exists in the real world.

When Elon published a third plan in 2023, even he admitted it didn’t land. “Too complex for almost anyone to understand,” he said. This newest version is short, under 1,000 words, but it doesn’t give clear numbers or roadmaps.

And that includes Optimus. Back in January, Elon said a “very rough guess” is that Tesla might be able to deliver Optimus robots to outside companies sometime in the second half of 2026.

Even without working prototypes or any business case, Elon keeps talking up the robot. And the timing isn’t random. Tesla’s car sales have been falling.

Global vehicle deliveries dropped 13% in the first half of 2025, putting the company on track for its second yearly decline in a row. That’s the worst performance the electric car maker has seen in years.

Tesla sees Europe slump while Norway stays loyal

While Tesla tries to refocus around robots, the company’s EV business in Europe is falling apart. Tesla’s vehicle sales in the region dropped 40% in July, and things got worse in August. New registrations in France were down 47%, and in Sweden they collapsed by 84%.

Tesla’s shrinking sales come as more competitors, especially from China, pour into the market. Brands like BYD are selling cheaper electric models and taking large chunks of Tesla’s customer base.

The other problem is Tesla’s own lineup. Buyers have been waiting years for significant upgrades, and nothing new has really dropped. On top of that, Elon’s frequent political statements have drawn heavy criticism in Europe. It’s not helping sales.

But not all markets are falling. In Norway, Tesla is still on top. The country has basically gone full electric. In August, 97% of all new cars sold were EVs. Tesla came out as the top-selling brand in the country this year, and saw its sales jump 22% year over year that same month. Norway is giving Tesla some breathing room, and the company also saw a slight increase in sales in Spain and Portugal last month.

Still, that isn’t enough to offset the crash in France, Sweden, and other major markets. Elon has denied that the company is in trouble in Europe. But Tesla is clearly under pressure, and Elon’s robot dreams are now doubling as a distraction from poor numbers on the ground.

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