Tesla to give update on ‘Optimus’ humanoid robot at AI day

Yahoo Finance Live anchors discuss the expectations for Tesla’s humanoid robot as the automotive company is set to provide consumers with an update.

Video transcript

[AUDIO LOGO]

BRIAN SOZZI: Well, speaking on potentially overvalued tech companies, we're also keeping an eye on Tesla shares, trading-- or in focus here. The company is hosting AI Day 2 today, where we are expected to get an update on new tech in the works, including new self-driving software and the highly-anticipated-- or more color on the highly-anticipated Tesla robot named Optimus. We were showing some creepy photos on the screen. That is Optimus, which was unveiled last year.

But this is what Elon Musk's vision is for this company, is to have Optimus robots on the factory floor churning out electric cars. No humans. No days off. Pedal to the metal here. And that's it.

BRAD SMITH: Come with me, if you want to--

BRIAN SOZZI: "Back to the Future." That's the future right there.

BRAD SMITH: This is the future, all right.

BRIAN SOZZI: That's the future Tesla worker.

BRAD SMITH: All right, well, the future Tesla worker is only 5' 8" and he says, come with me, if you want reach--

BRIAN SOZZI: [LAUGHS]

BRAD SMITH: -delivery and production targets.

BRIAN SOZZI: Come with me if you want a free battery.

BRAD SMITH: [LAUGHS]

BRIAN SOZZI: Yes.

BRAD SMITH: Exactly..

BRIAN SOZZI: Yes.

BRAD SMITH: I mean, the money that's going to need to go into this, yes. I think for Tesla, this isn't necessarily the time to talk about or-- yeah, you can talk about the future and what that may look like with this humanoid robot. But investors are just gonna be asking, why? Why put cash towards this? Why put resources internally, human resources, towards putting this robot either into production or even prioritizing--

BRIAN SOZZI: It's for the Gram, Brad.

BRAD SMITH: It's for the--

BRIAN SOZZI: It's for the Gram.

BRAD SMITH: All right, so do it for the Gram, great. But what about for the bottom line? For the margins and securing that right now? For Tesla, I think the great thing that they have in this period right now is such a headway in the battery that they've been able to bring to the market for their vehicles, for the revolution of the electric vehicle segment. And that's actually disrupted the automotive segment so much so to force every other company to make them get into this electric vehicle renaissance as well.

And of course, there's a sustainability component to it. Massively. But there's also a brand perception that Tesla has right now that they're gonna need to hold on to in order to retain the mindshare and fanfare, and potential purchases in the future up against the production capacity that's coming online from a Ford, from a GM, from some of the homegrown brands in China as well.

And that's gonna be a major differentiator that they're going to have to continue to pitch. Is the battery, is the production, is the delivery cycle ahead of all of those other companies? Where companies are taking on reservations for a vehicle that people aren't gonna get in their driveways or their garages for another three years. How can you deliver on that faster, on a better product experience, and continue to have people also upgrade their vehicles over time, too? Because that's something, the upselling, that other brands have done so well over the years, too.

BRIAN SOZZI: And on that same vibe here, before we go, we're supposed to get Tesla delivery numbers--

BRAD SMITH: Right.

BRIAN SOZZI: --over the weekend. The Street's staying pretty bullish on how many cars Tesla was able to have delivered. But I will note this, in the past week, we have gotten a warning from Ford. A pretty shocking warning about being unable to get enough chips to get its cars out the door.

Yesterday, we saw CarMax shares down 26%. 26%, as they said consumers are balking at the high prices for used cars. So I understreet-- I understand where the Street is coming from with their estimates on Tesla. But there could be some surprises when Tesla reports these delivery numbers. And they may not be positive. And if that's the case, it could be an ugly market open-- opening on Monday.

BRAD SMITH: All right, we're gonna keep a close eye on all of these major averages. The companies that we just rattled off there-- Tesla, Micron, and Facebook, Meta, of course.