During Tesla's Q3 2025 earnings call, CEO Elon Musk described the company's Optimus humanoid robot as an 'incredible surgeon' capable of driving unprecedented profits. He emphasized its potential to create a world without poverty through accessible medical care. Musk highlighted ongoing engineering challenges but expressed confidence in scaling production soon.
Tesla's Q3 2025 earnings call on October 23 focused heavily on the Optimus humanoid robot, with CEO Elon Musk touting its transformative potential. Musk stated that Optimus 'will be an incredible surgeon,' adding, 'Imagine if everyone had access to an incredible surgeon. Of course, we need to make sure Optimus is safe and everything. But I do think we're headed for a world of sustainable abundance.' He envisioned a future without poverty where all have access to 'the finest medical care,' combining Optimus with autonomous driving technology.
Musk called Optimus an 'infinite money glitch' at scale, predicting it could be 'the biggest product of all time' with five times human productivity since it operates 24 hours a day. Demonstrations so far include kung fu, walking down hills, picking up eggs, and slowly serving popcorn or food and drinks. However, Tesla has not yet shown surgical capabilities.
Engineering hurdles remain, particularly with the hand, fingers, and forearm, which Musk described as 'an incredibly difficult engineering challenge' more complex than the rest of the robot. He noted, 'The human hand is an incredible thing... those are all there for a reason.' A recent Gen 2.5 version reportedly used non-functional mannequin hands to avoid revealing details.
Tesla plans to unveil Optimus Version 3 in early 2026 and scale production to one million units per year, with a production-intent prototype expected soon and large-scale manufacturing by late 2026. Musk tied the project's success to his proposed CEO pay package, expressing discomfort building a 'robot army' without stronger voting control, saying, 'I don't feel comfortable wielding that robot army if I don't have at least a strong influence.' The call followed mixed earnings, with profits down a third year-over-year despite record revenue.