Tesla 'armageddon,' a 'legion' of Optimus robots, and no mention of DOGE: 5 takeaways from Elon Musk's livestream

• Elon Musk held a last-minute all-hands meeting with Tesla employees on Thursday night.
• Musk said investors need to "hang on to your stock" while touting the Cybercab and Optimus robots.
• The surprise meeting comes after Musk was criticized by investors for not focusing enough on Tesla.

Elon Musk held an all-hands meeting with Tesla employees at the Texas Gigafactory on Thursday night.

The meeting, which was held on short notice, was livestreamed on X. Tesla typically holds its all-hands meetings during regular work hours. This is also the first time Tesla has streamed an all-hands meeting publicly.

Tesla initially shared a livestream link with employees before the meeting's scheduled start time at 9:30 p.m. ET, only to end the stream abruptly. This sparked confusion among employees.

The company started a new livestream shortly before 9:30 p.m. ET, and the meeting kicked off at 9:58 p.m.

Musk spent the first half of the hourlong meeting giving updates on Tesla's safety record, its delivery figures, and the company's work on autonomous driving and robotics. The rest of the session was open to employees to ask questions.

Here are the five biggest takeaways from Tesla's all-hands meeting:

1. Musk said investors need to 'hang on to your stock'

Musk alluded to the turmoil surrounding Tesla's stock price while speaking about the company's autonomous driving ambitions.

"It's very difficult for people in the stock market — especially those that look in the rear-view mirror, which is most people — to imagine a future where suddenly a 10 million vehicle fleet has five to 10 times the usefulness," Musk told his workers at the all-hands meeting.

Tesla's stock has declined in the past weeks as the company grapples with falling sales and the controversy surrounding Musk's work with the White House DOGE office. Tesla showrooms have been hit with vandalism and protests nationwide.

"If you read the news, it feels like armageddon. I can't walk past the TV without seeing a Tesla on fire. What's going on?" Musk said on Thursday night.

The company's stock price has dropped by over 50% from its record highs in mid-December. Tesla shares closed at about $236 on Thursday, down from a peak closing price of $479 in December.

But Musk says autonomous driving will unlock Tesla's true value.

"It's so profound and there's no comparison with anything in the past. It just does not compute. But it will compute in the future. And some people, like Cathie Wood at ARK Invest, do see the future," Musk said on Thursday. ARK Invest set a $2,600 price target for Tesla's stock in June.

"So what I am saying is, 'Hang on to your stock,'" Musk added.

Tesla shares prices fell by half a percentage point after trading hours.

2. Musk wants Tesla's operations team to focus on the Cybercab line

When an employee asked Musk what Tesla's operations team should focus on in the next couple of years, Musk said they should prioritize the robotaxi, also known as the Cybercab.

"Well, we do want to scale up production to new heights, obviously, with the Cybercab. The Cybercab is not just a revolutionary car design, it's also a revolutionary manufacturing process," Musk said.

Musk said the production process for the Cybercab wasn't like a "normal car manufacturing line" but instead resembled a "high-speed consumer electronics line."

"In fact, the line will move so fast that actually, people can't even get close to it. I think it'll be able to produce a car, ultimately, in less than five seconds," Musk added.

Producing Cybercabs at such speeds would require Tesla to scale up its casting process, Musk said.

"Let's see what is the limit of physics, of how big can a casting machine be. Let's find out. I'm game. I'm down," Musk continued.

Musk unveiled Tesla's Cybercab at the company's "We, Robot" event in Los Angeles in October. During that presentation, Musk said the Cybercab would be in production before 2027.

During a Tesla earnings call in October, Musk told investors the Cybercab will cost "roughly $25,000." Musk said at the "We, Robot" event that he expects to sell the Cybercab for "below $30,000."

"We are aiming for at least 2 million units a year of Cybercab. That will be in more than one factory, but I think it's at least 2 million units a year, maybe 4 million ultimately," Musk said then, adding that the numbers were his "best guesses."

3. Tesla to build Optimus robots by the 'legion'

Musk said during the all-hands that he expects Tesla to ramp up its production of Optimus robots this year. He was responding to an employee's question about when the robots would be available to the public.

"This year, we hopefully will be able to make about 5,000 Optimus robots," Musk said.

Musk told his workers that Tesla was aiming to have enough parts to produce "10,000, maybe 12,000" robots.

"But since it's a totally new product. Everything is totally new. I will say we are succeeding if we get half of the 10,000. But even 5,000 robots, that's the size of a Roman legion," Musk said.

"I think we will literally build a legion, at least one legion of robots this year and then probably 10 legions next year," he added.

In April, Musk said during an earnings call that the Optimus robots are Tesla's most valuable asset.

"Because if you've got a sentient humanoid robot that is able to navigate reality and do tasks at request, there is no meaningful limit to the size of the economy," Musk told investors then.

4. No Tesla employees asked about politics

Employees did not ask Musk questions about politics during his question-and-answer session, which lasted around 30 minutes.

Some Tesla investors have criticized Musk's political involvement, saying it was weighing the company down. Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives wrote in a joint note on Wednesday that Musk's work with the White House DOGE office was turning Tesla into a "political symbol." Ives has consistently been bullish on Tesla.

"This is a bad thing," Ives wrote, adding that Musk needs to "take a step back and balance his DOGE and Tesla CEO roles."

Last week, Ross Gerber, a longtime Tesla investor, told BI that he doesn't expect Tesla's stock to rebound this year. Musk had alienated Tesla's customers with his political activities and positions, Gerber said.

5. Musk said he's 'stretched pretty thin'

Musk told his workers on Thursday that he is "stretched pretty thin," after one employee asked him if he is keen on making other products like airplanes or trains.

"I have like 17 jobs, at this point. I just go to sleep, work, go to sleep, work, and then do that seven days a week pretty much," Musk said.

"I guess I like being productive. I like getting things done," he added.

Musk runs half a dozen companies. Aside from Tesla, Musk splits his time between his rocket company, SpaceX, the social media platform X, tunneling company The Boring Co., neural-interface-technology startup Neuralink, and AI startup xAI.

This is in addition to his involvement with the White House DOGE office, where he's been spearheading cuts to government spending.

Musk said in an interview with Fox Business host Larry Kudlow, which aired on March 10, that he was balancing his political and business work "with great difficulty."

Representatives for Tesla did not respond to a request for comment from BI.