The Model X was unveiled at the Tesla showroom in Beijing, China on February 13, 2021.
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Tesla chief executive officer Elon Musk The automaker announced Wednesday that it will end production of its Model S and X vehicles and use its Fremont, Calif., plant to build its Optimus humanoid robots.
“It’s time to end the Model S and X programs with respect,” Musk said during the company’s fourth quarter. earnings to call “If you want to buy a Model S and Model X, now is the time to order one.”
The two models are Tesla’s oldest vehicles, and in recent years the company has slashed prices amid growing global competition for electric cars. Tesla started selling the Model S sedan in 2012 Model X SUV after three years.
Tesla’s most popular models are the 3 and Y, which are the company’s 1.59 million units. deliveries last year.
In its earnings call on Wednesday, Tesla reported a record drop in its first annual profit, with sales falling in three of the past four quarters. Musk is trying to shift his focus away from traditional electric vehicles to the future of driverless cars and humanoid robots, areas where the company currently has no real business.
Tesla is developing Optimus with the goal of marketing it as a bipedal, intelligent robot that can do everything from factory work to babysitting. The company announced in a release that it plans to launch the third-generation Optimus this quarter, its “first design for mass production.”
Musk said on the call that Tesla’s production line for the S and X in Fremont will be replaced by a “1 million-unit-a-year Optimus line.”
“Because it’s a completely new supply chain,” Musk said, “there’s really nothing from Optimus’ existing supply chain.”
Tesla expects to increase the number of employees and “significantly increase production” at the Fremont facility.
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