Musk's grand plans: “Optimus will eliminate poverty and be an incredible surgeon.” What does it say about Robotaxi?

Tesla has managed to return to record vehicle deliveries in the third quarter of 2025, but Elon Musk is not celebrating as he is “fixated on robots”, autonomous vehicles and securing enough voting power to prevent “corporate terrorists” from ousting him.

Elon Musk has big plans. Photo Getty Images

During the financial results conference, Musk said that the Robotaxi service, without safety drivers, should start before the end of the year in Austin, the capital of Texas, but the company remains cautious. Tesla also expects its Robotaxis to be present in eight or 10 metropolitan areas before the end of 2025.

On the robot front, Musk announced plans to release the Optimus V3 in the first quarter of 2026, noting that it will look more like a person in a robot suit than a traditional robot. He also predicted that Optimus would evolve into a highly capable machine that could perform complex tasks such as surgery in the future. According to Musk, such advances could play a major role in expanding widespread access to high-quality healthcare.

But Optimus faces stiff competition from several leading robotics firms. Boston Dynamics, Agility Robotics and Figure AI remain the main Western rivals, each of these companies promoting commercial humanoids such as Atlas, Digit and Figure 03 for use in manufacturing and logistics. Meanwhile, Chinese players such as Unitree, XPeng Robotics and Agibot are rapidly expanding their production and aiming for similar industrial goals. Other competitors, including Sanctuary AI and Apptronik, are also developing next-generation humanoids that aim to combine artificial intelligence with human behavior for use in factories, warehouses and home environments.

“Overall, while Tesla posted strong revenue growth fueled by record deliveries and deployments in the energy space, continued margin pressures and rising costs pose significant challenges as the company continues its ambitious growth and automation strategies. However, the third-quarter sales growth may largely reflect a one-time spike before the US EV tax credits expire, rather than a real rebound in demand. With incentives disappearing and cheaper competitors entering the market, maintaining the pace of growth looks difficult“, said Bogdan Maioreanu, eToro analyst.

Tesla's rebound in sales masks falling profits

Tesla sold 497,099 vehicles between July and September, generating $21.2 billion in auto industry revenue — its strongest performance in a year, according to technology.org. American buyers rushed to take advantage of the federal tax credit for electric vehicles before it expired. But the profits tell a different story. Tesla earned just $1.4 billion, a little over $200 million more than the previous quarter and 37% less than it earned in the same period last year.

Operating expenses rose 50% from the third quarter of 2024. Artificial intelligence development, research projects and “restructuring” expenses of nearly $240 million hurt the bottom line. The company did not specify what those restructuring costs covered, although the recent cancellation of its six-year-old Dojo supercomputer project likely played a role.

Tariffs added another burden. Chief Financial Officer Vaibhav Taneja estimated the customs damage at about $400 million during a conference call on Wednesday. Musk had spent about $300 million supporting the presidential campaign that ultimately imposed these trade barriers.

The third quarter provided temporary relief after a brutal start to 2025, when sales fell in part due to negative reactions to Musk's political activities in the Trump administration. But the respite could be short-lived.

Tesla needs another record quarter — and even more — just to match its 2024 or 2023 delivery numbers. Streamlined versions of the recently released Model 3 and Model Y could help, but the company has abandoned any claim to achieving the 50 percent annual growth rate it once promised investors.

Musk wants people to stop buying cars

Musk wants the world to stop counting cars. He has spent years shifting focus to self-driving vehicles and Optimus, the humanoid robot he believes will outsell any product in history. He believes a fleet of self-driving Teslas can compete with Uber. He imagines that Optimus will eliminate poverty and perform surgery.

“We are at a critical inflection point for Tesla and our future strategy as we bring AI into the real world”Musk said in the conference call. The company is located “at the beginning of the rather massive scaling of fully autonomous driving and robotaxis and fundamentally changing the nature of transporthe said.

Wednesday's shareholder letter provided few details on both programs. Musk mentioned that Tesla could begin production of the third version of the Optimus model in early 2026. Previously, he had promised thousands of units by the end of this year, but production has faced difficulties, according to The Information.

“Bringing Optimus to market is an incredibly difficult task, to be clear. It's not a walk in the parkMusk said.

Then he launched into abstract predictions. “You can create a world where there will be no poverty, where everyone will have access to the best medical careit is,” he said. “Optimus will be an incredible surgeon.”

These ambitions will consume more money. Taneja confirmed that capital expenditure will increase “substantial” in 2026 for artificial intelligence, robotics and the two-seater Cybercab Employee compensation has also increased as Tesla competes for AI talent.

The $1 trillion severance package

All of this is unfolding against the backdrop of a shareholder vote on Musk's $1 trillion compensation package. The meeting is in a few weeks. Consultancy firms ISS and Glass Lewis oppose the deal, but strong shareholder support in previous votes suggests it will pass.

Musk has threatened to leave Tesla if shareholders reject the package. On Wednesday, he made it clear that he cares less about the money than the vote control it provides.

“I just don't feel comfortable building a robot army here and then being removed because of stupid recommendations from the clueless ISS and Glass Lewis. I mean, those guys are corporate terrorists”Musk said.

The disconnect between Tesla's current business and Musk's AI-driven future has never been more pronounced. The company sells cars. The CEO wants to build robots and robotaxis. That chasm will only widen as spending on futuristic projects accelerates while profits in the auto industry stagnate.