Shares of Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) were in focus for investors on Monday as they assessed developments over the weekend, including President Donald Trump's comments about CEO Elon Musk and updates on the company's ambitious Optimus robot project. The stock rose 1.8% in premarket trading.
Trump praised Musk during remarks to reporters aboard Air Force One, calling him fantastic and well-intentioned, while describing the Tesla CEO as 80% genius and 20% mistakes. Musk returned the compliment on the X platform, noting that he had a wonderful dinner the previous night with @POTUS and @FLOTUS and declaring that 2026 would be amazing!
The Wall Street Journal published a detailed report on Tesla's Optimus humanoid robot project, which Musk described as potentially the company's biggest product ever, with the potential to generate endless revenue. The new compensation package gives Musk 10 years to transform Tesla into an $8.5 trillion company and sell at least one million robots, potentially earning him a trillion-dollar pay package.
Despite its ambitious vision, the Optimus Project faces significant technical challenges. Currently, the robots are handcrafted, as engineers struggle to create hands with the sensitivity and dexterity of humans. In public demonstrations, the robots are often remotely operated by human engineers wearing suits and virtual reality headsets.
Some Tesla employees have questioned the usefulness of humanoid robots for routine manufacturing processes, suggesting that specially designed robots might be more effective for specific factory tasks. Robotics experts point out that giving robots enough dexterity and environmental awareness to perform useful tasks remains a significant challenge.
Tesla has already pushed back its initial timeline to deploy commercial versions of Optimus robots in its factories by the end of this year. The company is currently working on the third generation of the robot.
This robot initiative comes at a time when Tesla's core automotive business is facing headwinds. The company reported that car sales fell 16% in the fourth quarter and are down 9% for the full year 2025, causing Tesla to lose its crown as the world's top-selling electric vehicle to China's BYD. Tesla's stock, which plummeted in early 2025 amid declining electric vehicle sales, has rebounded in recent months on optimism surrounding Musk's move into self-driving taxis and humanoid robots.
