Salesforce CEO shares clip of Tesla's $500k Optimus robot as he's given private demonstration
Published on Sep 05, 2025 at 10:22 AM (UTC+4)
by Jason Fan
Last updated on Sep 05, 2025 at 7:55 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Amelia Jean Hershman-Jones
The Optimus robot is once again in the spotlight after Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff shared a clip of Tesla’s humanoid machine on X.
Elon Musk has staked much of Tesla’s future on robotics, recently claiming that ‘80% of Tesla’s value will be Optimus.’
He’s gone as far as suggesting the robot could help turn Tesla into a $25 trillion company, far beyond its current $1 trillion market capitalization.
With stakes that high, even early demonstrations are drawing global attention – and plenty of criticism.
SBX CARS – View live supercar auctions powered by Supercar Blondie
Not the smoothest moves
The video itself shows a gold-painted Optimus robot interacting with the Salesforce CEO from a first-person perspective.
When asked what it was doing, the machine replied, ‘Just chilling, ready to help.’
Benioff then asked where he could find a soda, prompting a long pause before the robot slowly began to walk away, presumably toward the kitchen to retrieve the drink.
Benioff hyped the demo in his caption, calling it the ‘dawn of the physical Agentforce revolution’ and a ‘productivity game-changer’.
Interestingly, the Salesforce CEO hinted that the projected price tag of the robot will be between $200,000 and $500,000, despite Musk previously sharing a much lower estimate.
Tesla enthusiasts and skeptics alike weighed in after Benioff’s post.
Some mocked its ‘clunky’ steps and awkward delays, while one viral comment even joked that the robot looked like it was walking with ‘a loaded diaper’.
Given that its competitors have unveiled robots that can perform kung fu moves with astonishing accuracy and balance, the Optimus isn’t looking very agile.
Still, some users defended the project, saying its jerky motion was to be expected at this stage, while applauding the concept.
Musk is betting big on Optimus
For Musk, however, the hype goes beyond a social media stunt.
Tesla has already prioritized the Optimus robot over other projects, shifting its focus from affordable EVs in favor of high-tech robotics and self-driving Robotaxis.
In 2023, Musk even described the Robotaxi as the product that ‘makes Tesla a $10 trillion company’, even though the project has hit a few speed bumps this year.
He later upgraded the same prediction to Optimus the following year, claiming that these robots will ‘make Tesla a $25 trillion company’.
In fact, Musk went even further with Optimus, claiming that the humanoid robot will be the ‘biggest product of all time’.
If Benioff’s video is any indication, the road ahead may be clunky, but Tesla is betting its future on a humanoid revolution.
DISCOVER SBX CARS: The global premium car auction platform powered by Supercar Blondie
Jason Fan is an experienced content creator who graduated from Nanyang Technological University in Singapore with a degree in communications. He then relocated to Australia during a millennial mid-life crisis. A fan of luxury travel and high-performance machines, he politely thanks chatbots just in case the AI apocalypse ever arrives. Jason covers a wide variety of topics, with a special focus on technology, planes and luxury.
