Elon Musk's Optimus Could Herald The Biggest Industry In History, Billionaire Investor Marc Andreessen Says

by Erica Kollmann Benzinga Staff Writer

Zinger Key Points

“Robotics is going to be the biggest industry in the history of the planet - it's going to be gigantic,” Marc Andreessen says.
Elon Musk often calls Optimus potentially "the biggest product ever of any kind."
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Optimus, also known as the Tesla Bot, is a general-purpose humanoid robot developed by Tesla, Inc. TSLA. CEO Elon Musk.has called it "the biggest product ever."

What To Know: First announced at Tesla’s Artificial Intelligence Day in August 2021, Optimus is envisioned as a robotic assistant designed to perform tasks that are dangerous, repetitive, or boring for humans.

Musk has repeatedly stated his belief that Optimus could one day become more significant than Tesla’s vehicle business and has often called it potentially “the biggest product ever of any kind.”

Billionaire investor Marc Andreessen spoke to a group at the Reagan National Economic Forum last Friday. He said general-purpose robotics will "happen at giant scale" in the next decade.

"Robotics is going to be the biggest industry in the history of the planet – it’s going to be gigantic," Andreessen said.

The visionary investor also said that the U.S. should focus on advanced manufacturing of things like robots, drones and cars in order to benefit economically and lead the world on the edge of technology.

He cautioned that the alternative would be to allow China to take the lead in AI and robotics, which could lead to a national security crisis.

"If you don't do this – you are living in a world of Chinese robots everywhere – and that has very profound consequences," Andreessen said.

Future Vision: Nvidia Corp. NVDA CEO Jensen Huang told Bloomberg last week that Tesla’s Optimus could be the first humanoid robot that could achieve the high volume and technology scale needed for the sector.

“I think this is likely to be the next multi-trillion-dollar industry," Huang said.

Musk has said that Optimus will enter “low production” for internal use at Tesla in 2025 and has set a target of building 5,000 units this year.

The Tesla CEO said that broader commercial availability of Optimus is planned for 2026, with production scaled up to 50,000 units and external sales to businesses and potentially consumers. According to Musk, Optimus could eventually be priced between $20,000 and $30,000 if produced at scale.

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