Tesla's Elon Musk optimistic on progress for self-driving, robots

File picture

Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk on Wednesday set new targets for artificial intelligence products including self-driving software and using humanoid robots in factories, though he acknowledged he's been optimistic before.

The electric vehicle maker is in early talks with a major automaker to license its full self-driving technology, Musk added.

The value of Tesla vehicles would rise in perhaps "the single biggest step change in history" once regulators approved self-driving, he said at an earnings briefing. Musk has also said that Tesla robots, in pilot phase, could become a huge product. He said they could help out on Tesla's factory floors as soon as next year, although only about 10 have been built to date.

Rising interest rates and competition from new EV makers have forced Tesla to cut vehicle prices to gain market share, hurting margins.

But Musk said Tesla will keep pushing to expand sales volume at the cost of profit margins, betting on the long-term value from FSD. "Autonomy will make all of these numbers look silly," he said.

Tesla's move to license its technology comes after years of failed promises by many to create software that lets cars drive themselves.

The licensing announcement was not surprising, given industry failures, Ark Invest's Tasha Keeney said on Twitter. "Autonomy is hard, it requires vast amounts of data, and I believe many automakers will fail to achieve it on their own."

Tesla has completed over 300 million miles in the beta version of FSD, over half of which was in the past quarter, according to an earnings presentation.

But Musk was more cautious than usual.

"People have sort of made fun of me and perhaps quite fairly have made fun of me, my predictions about achieving full self-driving have been optimistic in the past," he said.

"I'm the boy who cried FSD, but I think we'll be better than human by the end of this year," he said. "I've been wrong in the past, I may be wrong this time."

More from Business

  • UAE, Ukraine Presidents witness CEPA signing

    President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine, on Monday attended the signing of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between the two countries.

  • New AED 25 hour event parking tariffs begin in Dubai

    Vehicle parking at major events in Dubai will be charged at AED 25 an hour coming into effect on Monday, parking company Parkin confirmed.

  • Abu Dhabi issues new endowment company rules

    Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development (ADDED), in collaboration with The Endowments and Minors’ Funds Management Authority (Awqaf Abu Dhabi), has issued a resolution on the establishment and licensing of endowment institutions in Abu Dhabi.

  • IDC 2025 discusses global disruptions, defence preparedness

    The International Defence Conference 2025 commenced on Sunday at Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi, bringing together defence and security leaders, experts, and companies from around the world to discuss key challenges and opportunities in the sector.

  • Dubai Energy Council reviews carbon emissions progress

    Ahmed bin Saeed chaired the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy meeting on Sunday, which reviewed progress in carbon emission reduction technologies in alignment with the UAE’s Net Zero 2050 Strategy and the Dubai Carbon Abatement Strategy 2030.