Tesla Stock Drops 5% as OpenAI and Nvidia Intensify Humanoid Robot Race, Challenging Musk’s Optimus
Tesla Inc. (TSLA) shares fell sharply on Monday, closing nearly 5% lower as investors weighed intensifying competition in the humanoid robotics market — a sector CEO Elon Musk has repeatedly called the company’s next major growth frontier beyond electric vehicles.
Over the weekend, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman unveiled a new in-house robotics unit, posting on X that the company is hiring engineers to build hardware, control systems, and machine-learning models for “robots that help people in the physical world.” Altman said the initial focus will be on skilled labor for infrastructure projects, with longer-term ambitions to scale toward personal robots for daily use.
Separately, Nvidia announced a tie-up with Chinese robotics firm Unitree to integrate its H2 humanoid robots with Nvidia’s Jetson Thor computing module and the Isaac GR00T platform, aimed at accelerating advanced humanoid development. The moves signal rising competition for Tesla’s Optimus before the automaker has even begun volume production.
Tesla said in January it would unveil the mass-production version of Optimus, nicknamed Gen 3, in the first quarter. But the event has yet to take place. During the company’s Q1 earnings call in April, Musk said the robot is expected to be revealed closer to production, likely in July or August. He described the production version as “almost ready to demonstrate,” aside from some cosmetic elements, adding that he wants it to be “polished” and fully functional.
“We’re also a little hesitant to show V3 off, because we find our competitors do a frame-by-frame analysis whenever we release something and copy everything they possibly can,” Musk said, explaining the delay. “So I think there’s some value to, you know, not showing new technology until it’s close to production.”
Tesla initially plans to manufacture Optimus on a production line that replaces the one for the now-retired Model X and Model S at its Fremont factory. But Musk added in April that it is “literally impossible to predict” the production rate of Optimus this year, citing the product’s novelty and complex supply-chain challenges.
Musk envisions Optimus as a general-purpose humanoid robot capable of performing nearly any task a human can, starting with dangerous, repetitive, or boring work. The robot is first expected to be deployed inside Tesla’s own factories to boost efficiency and address labor shortages, but the long-term goal is to sell it as an affordable personal household robot — priced between $20,000 and $30,000 — that can handle chores, babysitting, elderly care, dog walking, lawn mowing, or companionship. Musk has repeatedly called it potentially “the biggest product of all time,” far exceeding the value of Tesla’s vehicle business.
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On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around TSLA stock stayed in ‘bearish’ territory over the past 24 hours, while message volume remained at ‘normal’ levels. One user dismissed the chances of OpenAI disrupting Tesla in robotics. Another user argued the sell-off was an overreaction.
TSLA stock has gained 21% over the past 12 months.
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Anan Ashraf has no position in any of the stocks mentioned in this article. StockTwits' news team content is for informational purposes only and is not intended as investment advice. For more, see our editorial policy. This article was originally published on StockTwits.
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