Tesla has shifted its focus from electric vehicles to humanoid robots, but the initial feedback on the first demo hasn't exactly been stellar.
What's happening?
Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff posted a video of Tesla's Optimus humanoid robot on the social platform X. Per Inc. Magazine, social media users were critical of the robot's appearance, hefty price tag, and delayed response time.
In the clip, a gold Optimus with Tesla branding is asked a couple of questions. When asked to help find a soda, the humanoid robot wasn't very quick with its response. After a delay, the Optimus eventually led the way to the kitchen.
Elon's Tesla Optimus 🤖🔥 is here! Dawn of the physical Agentforce revolution, tackling human work for $200K–$500K. Productivity game-changer! Congrats @elonmusk, and thank you for always being so kind to me! 🚀 #Tesla #Optimus pic.twitter.com/bA5IYIylE1
— Marc Benioff (@Benioff) September 3, 2025
Many commenters were unimpressed with the Tesla product. "This might literally be the worst humanoid robot demo I have seen!" Savvy Trader & Earnings Hub Founder and CEO Hamid Shojaee wrote on X.
Many past demos involving Optimus robots have generally left people impressed, though often skeptical about how much the robots are relying on teleoperation — in other words, that they could be controlled by human operators in a manner similar to controlling a video game character.
Tesla's Optimus won't be a cheap investment either. Benioff mentioned in his post on X that the humanoid robot will cost between $200,000 and $500,000. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has previously projected that the robots could cost under $20,000 if the company could produce them at a scale of 1 million per year.
Why is Tesla's Optimus robot important?
Despite the negative reception from social media users, Musk has expressed his confidence in the humanoid robot. In a post on X, Musk said approximately 80% of the company's value will come from the Optimus robots, per CNBC.
Musk is likely treading carefully about the risk for overproduction toward his pricing goals, after seeing his Cybertruck fail to reach its expected sales goal of 250,000 units in 2025, with a current pace of about 20,000 to 25,000 — and after watching Apple's Vision Pro flop, given its somewhat similar big bet on an expensive and futuristic product. Ultimately, the success or failure typically comes down to how good and needed the product is, and Tesla surely believes Optimus will be both.
Tesla's focus on Optimus comes amid dwindling EV sales with the automaker reporting a 13.5% sales decline in Q2. A month later, Tesla quietly raised the prices for both the Model S and Model X, according to InsideEVs. Making EVs more expensive makes them less accessible for customers and could slow the adoption of more environmentally friendly vehicles.
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, electric vehicles may generate electricity from charging, but the vehicles have zero tailpipe emissions and are much more efficient than their gas counterparts. EVs also allow drivers to save hundreds on gas and maintenance.
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Sign me up 👍 What's being done about EV sales?
While Tesla has struggled to keep customers interested, other EV brands have been thriving in the United States. According to Cox Automotive, more than 146,000 EVs were sold in the U.S. in August — a new record.
The increasing popularity of EVs isn't surprising. According to a report, analysts predicted that more than 1 in 4 cars sold worldwide in 2025 would be EVs.
Drivers looking to buy an EV for an affordable price should act soon. Federal tax incentives for the planet-friendly upgrades are set to expire on Sept. 30, 2025.
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