Elon Musk says Tesla will phase out its longest-running vehicle lines and retool its California factory to mass-produce Optimus humanoid robots as the company pivots toward robotics and AI.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced Wednesday that the automaker will end production of its Model S and Model X vehicles and convert its Fremont, California, factory to manufacture Optimus humanoid robots, marking a major strategic shift away from two of the company’s flagship electric vehicles.
Speaking during Tesla’s fourth-quarter earnings call, Musk said it was “time to basically bring the Model S and X programs to an end with an honorable discharge,” according to reporting by CNBC. He added that customers interested in purchasing the vehicles should do so soon, saying “if you’re interested in buying a Model S and X, now would be the time to order it.”
Tesla did not respond to a request for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.
The Model S and Model X currently occupy the high end of Tesla’s lineup. The Model S starts at roughly $95,000, while the Model X begins at about $100,000, according to pricing cited by CNBC.
The decision comes as Tesla faces mounting financial pressure. The company’s annual profit fell to its lowest level in several years in 2025 amid ongoing struggles including increased competition from other electric vehicle manufacturers. Deutsche Welle reported that Tesla’s net income dropped 46% last year to $3.8 billion, reflecting lower EV sales and rising investment in artificial intelligence and automation technologies, according to DW.
Musk has increasingly positioned robotics as central to Tesla’s future. The company first unveiled Optimus, a humanoid robot designed to perform repetitive or labor-intensive tasks, in August 2021, as previously reported by The Wall Street Journal. Since then, Musk has repeatedly emphasized the robot’s potential scale and commercial impact.
During remarks at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Jan. 22, Musk said he expects Tesla to begin offering Optimus robots for sale to the public by the end of 2027. He added that he believes “everyone on earth is going to have one and want one,” according to Axios.
Musk has also suggested that Optimus will ultimately eclipse Tesla’s automotive business in value. In a Sept. 1, 2025 post on X, he wrote that he estimates “80% of Tesla’s value will be Optimus” in the future, according to the post. He has previously said the robots are expected to cost less than $20,000, a projection reported by Fox Business in October 2022.
The planned conversion of the Fremont factory underscores Tesla’s broader pivot toward robotics and artificial intelligence as Musk seeks new growth avenues amid a cooling electric vehicle market and intensifying global competition.
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