Tesla says it will begin robotaxi business and Optimus "pilot" production in 2025
Tesla plans to launch its robotaxi business and pilot production of its humanoid robot in 2025, the company said Wednesday.
Why it matters: CEO Elon Musk has described self-driving car services as critical to the company's future.
Driving the news: Musk said on an earnings call that the company is "confident" it will launch "unsupervised" full-self-driving cars "as a paid service" in Austin, Texas, in June.
He predicted the company would also launch robotaxi services in California this year, plus other U.S. markets.
Tesla's "supervised" FSD — a partially autonomous driving system requiring occasional driver intervention — "continues to rapidly improve with the aim of ultimately exceeding human levels of safety," the company said in its earnings report.
Tesla said its Cybercab — a vehicle with no steering wheel built to serve as a robotaxi — will begin "volume production starting in 2026."
Between the lines: Tesla also said Wednesday it remains committed to delivering "more affordable models," with production set to begin on these electric vehicles in the first half of 2025.
"These vehicles will utilize aspects of the next generation platform as well as aspects of our current platforms and will be produced on the same manufacturing lines as our current vehicle line-up," the company said.
By the numbers: In the fourth quarter, Tesla's revenue rose 2% compared with a year earlier to $25.7 billion, falling short of S&P Capital IQ's estimate of $27.1 billion.
Its net income fell 71% to $2.3 billion, in line with S&P's estimate.
Tesla shares jumped over 4% in after hours trading.
Tesla analysts are more focused on the company's future ambitions — including the development of its Optimus humanoid — than its past financial performance, according to Evercore ISI analyst Chris McNally.
Musk said the company will make at least several thousand Optimus robots in 2025, adding that their initial use will be for tasks inside Tesla factories.
Eventually, "Optimus will be able to play the piano and thread a needle," he said.
Editor's note: This article was updated with further information from Tesla's earnings call.
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