According to The Rundown AI, Elon Musk announced that Tesla's Optimus humanoid robot is targeted for public sale in 2027, highlighting a major milestone for robotics commercialization. The report also notes that Tesla's driverless robotaxis are now live in Austin, showcasing the company's advances in autonomous vehicle deployment. Additionally, Hyundai's push for the Atlas robotics platform faces criticism from unions, indicating workforce tensions amid automation. The coverage also features innovative swarm robots with flower-like movements, pointing to new directions in collaborative robotics. These developments underscore emerging business opportunities and competitive shifts in the robotics and AI-powered automation markets, as reported by The Rundown AI.

According to Sawyer Merritt, citing William Blair analyst Jed Dorsheimer, Tesla's stock valuation is now driven by its transformation into a real-world AI leader, particularly through its robotaxi and Optimus initiatives. The analyst highlights that Tesla’s Megapack energy storage solution is expected to become a critical infrastructure component for AI data centers in 2026. This marks a significant business opportunity for Tesla as demand for AI-driven data processing and storage grows, positioning Megapack as a key enabler of large-scale AI deployments (Source: Sawyer Merritt on X, Jan 3, 2026).