By Jiahui Huang

Tesla is aiming to build 5,000 of its Optimus humanoid robots this year, CEO Elon Musk said at a meeting where he also urged staff to hold on to their shares of the company amid a selloff in the stock.

Musk announced the goal at an all-hands meeting, saying that the company can translate its self-driving tech to advancing production of the human-like robot, according to a recording of the event posted on X. Pilot production of the Optimus robots, which can perform tasks like walking and catching balls, is slated to begin this year, he added.

"Optimus has gone from being an idea to the most sophisticated humanoid robot on earth," Musk said, adding that Tesla is the only company with all the ingredients to make intelligent humanoid robots at scale.

Tesla's plans also come as the carmaker's stock comes under pressure from softening demand for electric vehicles, Musk's foray into politics and intensifying competition with Chinese rival BYD. Its shares are down 41.5% so far this year.

After years of strong growth, Tesla's sales flattened last year, and early indicators for the first quarter of this year signal ongoing weakness, said Ahmad Assiri, research strategist at Pepperstone. At the same time, BYD has continued to gain considerable traction in the EV market, notching rapid growth and becoming increasingly attractive to consumers and investors, he wrote in a note.

"This intensifying competition directly threatens Tesla's market share, with BYD potentially overtaking Tesla's position in the industry," he said.

At Thursday's meeting, Musk urged employees to not sell their shares of the automaker.

"There are times when there are rocky moments, a little bit of stormy weather but I'm here to tell you the future is bright and exciting," he said.

The announcement of the Optimus production goal comes as the humanoid robot industry is poised to enter a new era, with many companies set to debut models this year. Leading tech names including Apple, Huawei, Meta and Tencent have all announced humanoid robots.

"This year is set to be pivotal for humanoid robot model launches, with Tesla's flagship model, Optimus, anticipated to deliver 5,000-10,000 units," Daiwa analyst Kelvin Lau wrote in a recent note.

Musk said Tesla now has enough parts to build 10,000 to 12,000 robots this year, but since it's a new product, the goal is to make 5,000 this year. It hopes to reach 50,000 units next year, he added.

The Tesla robot will be ready for use outside of a controlled environment in the second half of next year, and made available to company employees first, Musk said.

Write to Jiahui Huang at jiahui.huang@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 21, 2025 02:02 ET (06:02 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2025 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.