Tesla Is Killing Two Iconic Car Models To Make Robots

During Tesla's earnings call for the 2025 fiscal year, the company's CEO Elon Musk announced that the vehicle maker will "basically stop the production" of its Model S and Model X cars in the next quarter to focus on producing the company's Optimus humanoid robots. "It's time to bring the Model S and X program to an end with an honorable discharge, because we're really moving into a future that's based on autonomy."

With that, the second vehicle Tesla ever produced, and which has been on the market for over 14 years, is now being phased out alongside the Model X, which has been in production since 2015. With that said, Tesla will continue to produce the Model 3 and Model Y, which were the two best-selling EVs of 2025 in the U.S.

Musk also says Tesla will continue to support Model S and Model X vehicles for years to come, and consumers will be able to buy them while supply lasts. Once they're gone, that will be it, as Tesla's Fremont factory will shift its focus to manufacturing Optimus robots.

In the earnings call, Elon Musk also explained that his long-term goal is for Tesla to manufacture a million Optimus robots where the current Model S and X vehicles are produced. Just a few days ago, the CEO announced that by the end of 2027, customers will be able to purchase Optimus humanoid robots – six years after Musk announced the initiative.

At the moment, we only know that this humanoid robot uses Tesla technology and it's able to walk on uneven terrain while maintaining its balance. Besides that, a clear vision of what this robot will be capable of is unknown, as Musk previously said "whatever you can think of, it will do." Other companies, like Germany's NEURA, are focused on dirty, dull, and dangerous tasks, while Agibot is focused on the B2B market. Another competitor, XPENG, will start using its humanoid robots for guided tours of its factory and as a personal shopper at its stores. That said, we'll likely hear a lot more about Optimus in the coming months.