Elon Musk, Tesla’s CEO, has revealed that China’s restrictions on rare earth exports are affecting the production of the humanoid robot Optimus.
According to CNBC, Musk stated during the company’s Q1 earnings call that Tesla is working with China to resolve this issue and hopes to secure approval for access to critical resources.
In early April, China implemented new export controls on seven rare earth elements and magnets used across various sectors, from defense to energy and automotive technology. This move was seen as retaliation against tariff hikes imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump.
Reports suggest that China has asked Tesla to ensure that the rare earth magnets, which are under expert control, are not used for military purposes. Musk, however, clarified, that China wants assurances that this won’t be used for military purposes, which is clearly not the case. He added that the rare earths are simply going into humanoid robots.
Musk also emphasized the significance of humanoid robots are that the company’s future is fundamentally based on large-scale autonomous vehicles and a massive number of autonomous humanoid robots.