Drones and Humanoids: China vs. America’s showdown
Elon referenced a reposted post to X, which said something of the effect that “a country that cannot manufacture its own drones is destined to be a retainer of a country that can.” And with each musk, “America can’t currently manufacture its own drones.”
The comment was made in response to analysts’ questions about whether the US or China is further ahead in developing physical AI, particularly humanoids and drones. Musk noted that China makes up 70% of all drones, while others rely on China’s supply chain.
Tesla doesn’t make drones, but it does make humanoids. And despite the fact that China’s humanoid robots are already trying to run half marathons (although they have not been very successful), they have been widely publicly and industrially deployed and have received strong government support, but Musk said there is no company in a country that matches Tesla.
“Right now, I’m a little worried about the second to ten ranks becoming a Chinese company on the leaderboard, but I’m sure Rank 1 will become Tesla,” he said.