Elon Musk Wants ‘Strong Influence’ Over the ‘Robot Army’ He’s Building

Could be Tesla An electric auto manufacturer, but the CEO Elon Musk He makes it clear that he thinks of it as much more: an inventor of artificial intelligence and software, a creator of world-shaking robots. He also reasoned Tesla Should be worth much more than it is today: up to $20 trillion, he said Posted in JulyMore than five times Nvidia’s current price.

Musk has also made it clear that he wants a lot of money. In November, Tesla shareholders will vote on the board’s proposal to pay the CEO A significant $1 trillion over the next decade. The deal will increase Musk’s stake in Tesla from 13 percent to a quarter. But Musk will only get those big figures—and additional controls—if he hits a series of ambitious metrics, including delivering 20 million cars, 1 million Robotoxis commercial operations, and an $8.5 trillion valuation. And also, 1 million Optimus humanoid robots have been delivered.

In a call with investors Wednesday, Musk locked in on that last point to make his most threatening argument yet for a huge payday. “My basic concern about how much voting control I have at Tesla is, if I go ahead and build this massive robot army, could I be ousted at some point in the future?” He said “If we build this robot army, will I at least have a strong influence over this robot army? Not control, but a strong influence … I don’t feel comfortable building that robot army if I don’t have strong influence.”

Typically, Musk talks about Tesla’s Optimus project as a force for peace rather than war. He says that Optimus will improve the job market and free humanity from the drudgery of work. (“Working will be optional, like growing your own vegetables instead of buying them from the store,” he said has been posted This week.) Elsewhere on an investor call Wednesday, he said Tesla’s robots “will really create a world where there is no poverty, where everyone has access to the best medical care.”

Optimus, he added, “would be an incredible surgeon, and imagine if everyone had access to an incredible surgeon.” For Tesla, Optimus will be “an infinite money problem,” Musk said, adding that everyone will want a humanoid robot that can do their jobs for them.