by Ireland Owens
Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced Wednesday the company is scrapping the production of its Model S and X vehicles, and instead plans to convert its factory in Fremont, California to produce Optimus humanoid robots, according to CNBC.
Musk said during the automaker’s fourth-quarter earnings call that it is “time to basically bring the Model S and X programs to an end with an honorable discharge,” CNBC reported. He added “if you’re interested in buying a Model S and X, now would be the time to order it,” according to the outlet.
Tesla’s Model S presently starts at about $95,000 on the company’s website, and the Model X starts at around $100,000, CNBC reported.
Tesla’s annual profit notably dropped to its lowest level in several years in 2025 amid ongoing struggles such as increased competition from other electric vehicle (EV) makers, Deutsche Welle (DW) reported on Wednesday. The automaker reported on Wednesday that its net income in 2025 plummeted 46%, to $3.8 billion, according to the outlet.
Tesla first unveiled plans to build Optimus, a humanoid robot designed to help humans perform repetitive tasks, in August 2021, The Wall Street Journal reported. Musk said during a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos on January 22 that he projects Tesla will begin offering its Optimus robots for sale to the public by the end of 2027, adding he believes “everyone on earth is going to have one and want one,” Axios reported.
During his January 22, 2026, conversation at the World Economic Forum in Davos with BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, Musk provided an updated timeline for Optimus, stating, “Humanoid robotics will advance very quickly. We do have some of the Tesla Optimus robots doing simple tasks in the factory… By the end of this year, I think they will be doing more complex tasks, and probably by the end of next year, I think we’d be selling humanoid robots to the public.” He emphasized that sales would begin when Tesla achieves “very high reliability, very high safety, and the range of functionality is also very high.”
Musk expanded his vision of Optimus’s future role, predicting widespread adoption. He said, “My prediction is that there will be more robots than people… I think everyone on Earth is going to have one and going to want one. Because who wouldn’t want a robot to, you know, assuming it’s very safe—watch over your kids, take care of your pet?” He highlighted potential applications like elder care in aging societies, framing AI and robotics as “the path to abundance for all.”
Musk wrote in a Sept. 1, 2025 X post that he estimates “80% of Tesla’s value will be Optimus” in the future. Moreover, Musk previously said the humanoid robots are projected to cost less than $20,000, Fox Business reported in October 2022.
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Ireland Owens is a reporter at Daily Caller News Foundation. Tennessee Star Executive Editor Christina Botteri contributed to this report.
Photo “Tesla Optimus Robot” by Tesla Optimus.
