Elon Musk says Tesla will rent Optimus

In an interview with Ron Baron, Elon Musk suggested that Tesla will likely rent out its Optimus humanoid robots rather than sell them outright, positioning the machines as a labor utility priced against wages. The author argues that a rental model allows Tesla to retain fleet ownership, capture recurring revenue, and maintain strict control over deployment, though it raises significant questions about labor displacement and worker autonomy. Open article →