Elon Musk: Tesla’s Optimus Robot Will Go on Sale in 2027

Tesla CEO Elon Musk is tightening the timeline for when you can actually own one of the company’s humanoid robots. 

Speaking at a panel during the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos on Thursday, Musk announced that public sales for the Optimus robot are slated to begin by the end of 2027.

The billionaire noted that the robots are already getting their hands dirty, performing “simple tasks in the factory,” according to a report by Electric Vehicles (EV). Musk expects these machines to level up quickly, stating that “probably late this year they’ll be doing more complex tasks” before they are deemed ready for the general public.

Reliability and safety first

While Musk is known for ambitious timelines — having previously suggested a 2025 rollout — he emphasized that the 2027 date hinges on the technology reaching a specific level of maturity. According to Sherwood, Musk believes that is when “there is very high reliability, very high safety, and the range of functionality is also very high.”

The vision isn’t just for a few niche hobbyists, either. Musk painted a picture of a world where these robots are as common as smartphones.

“Humanoid robotics will advance very quickly,” he said, predicting that “everyone on earth is going to have one and going to want one.” 

He even suggested in the past that there would eventually be billions of these robots, potentially outnumbering humans.

A world beyond cars

The shift toward robotics is so central to Tesla’s future that Musk believes the company’s identity as a carmaker might eventually fade into the background. Per the EV report, Musk noted it is “probably true” that people will forget Tesla ever built cars once the company launches its Optimus V3.

However, mass production remains the mountain to climb.

According to EV, Musk shared on the Moonshots podcast earlier this month that while he expects robots to be “plentiful” eventually, the initial rollout will be marked by scarcity. To hit the goals of his recently approved pay package, Tesla is tasked with delivering 1 million humanoid robots by 2035.

Economic and AI implications

The prospect of billions of robots hasn’t arrived without warnings. During the same WEF event, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, who interviewed Musk, raised concerns about the impact of uncontrolled AI growth on the working class. 

Fink noted that AI “threatens to replay” historical patterns where wealth accrued to a narrow group. “This is the test: whether capitalism can evolve to turn more people into owners of growth—instead of spectators watching it happen,” Fink warned during his opening remarks, per EV.

Musk, however, remains focused on the rapid pace of intelligence, predicting that AI could become “smarter than any human by the end of this year” or “no later than next year,” as reported by Investing.com. For now, the focus remains on the factory floor, where Optimus is learning the ropes before its scheduled 2027 debut.

For a broader look at how humanoid robots are moving from hype to real-world deployments, check out how UBTECH and Airbus are already putting humanoid robots to work in industrial settings.

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