Tesla (TSLA) Chief Executive Elon Musk said in a conference call late Tuesday that he still expects to produce "thousands" of the company's Optimus robots during 2025.

The company needs to first work through "10,000 unique things" associated with bringing a new product to market, Musk said, adding that people shouldn't expect to see many Optimus robots before late in the year.

Musk said one particularly difficult issue the Optimus program is dealing with are the new export restrictions on rare earth elements used to produce high-end magnets and other specialized electronic components. Beijing recently imposed the restrictions as part of the escalating trade war between the US and China and Musk said Tesla is still working to resolve "the magnet issue" the export controls are causing for Optimus.

Musk said the company will hopefully "get a license to use the rare Earth magnets," and that "China wants some assurances that these are not used for military purposes." Musk added that the magnets are "just going into a humanoid robot line."

Musk also said he was confident Tesla will eventually resolve the current impasse over rare earth materials, although he declined to offer up a specific timeframe for overcoming it or other hurdles still facing the program.

Tesla shares were up 7.5% in recent early trading.

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