Elon Musk has suggested Tesla's Optimus humanoid robot could eventually become its most important product. Building it will require heavy investment in computing power, memory, and batteries, which could benefit TSMC, Micron, and Panasonic before Tesla sells a single robot.
The Tesla CEO has suggested that Optimus could eventually become the company's most important product, with applications ranging from factory work to household chores. Turning that vision into a profitable business will require enormous investments in computing power, memory, and batteries, according to The Motley Fool.
Tesla's bulls, including Cathie Wood at Ark Invest, believe Optimus could be a huge opportunity for the stock. As Tesla works toward commercial production, some of its established technology partners will likely start reaping the rewards even earlier, the article argues.
TSMC supplies the chips
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing is the world's largest chip manufacturer, and it produces advanced semiconductors for every member of the Magnificent Seven, including Tesla. Musk highlighted TSMC as one of his important chipmaking partners on Tesla's July earnings call.
Optimus will need powerful processors to interpret visual information, make decisions, and control its movements. In its third-quarter report, TSMC reported revenue of $46.72 billion, up 41% from a year ago.
Tesla's plans to develop its own chip manufacturing capacity could eventually create competition for TSMC. However, building advanced semiconductor factories is extraordinarily expensive and technically demanding.
Micron supplies the memory
Micron Technology makes DRAM, high-bandwidth memory, and storage products used in AI computing. Musk thanked Micron on the July call for providing a substantial memory allocation to Tesla despite tight industry supplies.
Micron also sees opportunity beyond Tesla. On the company's fiscal fourth-quarter earnings call, CEO Sanjay Mehrotra said that autonomous vehicles can require more than 200 gigabytes of memory and multiple terabytes of storage, and that humanoid robots could have comparable requirements.
Panasonic's role remains unconfirmed
Panasonic manufactures lithium-ion batteries for Tesla's vehicles, and the article suggests that expertise could become valuable in humanoid robotics. Optimus will need rechargeable batteries that can power its motors, processors, and sensors without making the robot too heavy.
Still, a specific agreement to provide batteries for Optimus hasn't been publicly confirmed. The open question is whether Panasonic can turn its battery experience into meaningful robotics revenue.
The Motley Fool says it will take years of engineering, investment, and production before Optimus robots come off the assembly line and become available for commercial sale.
Source: The Motley Fool
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