Elon Musk says humanoid robots will spark massive memory chip demand
Elon Musk sent Micron stock surging over 5%.
The short version
- Humanoid robots will need massive memory chip supplies.
- Tesla already packs 144GB into its AI6 chips.
- Demand could drive big growth for the memory market.
Elon Musk, the head of Tesla and SpaceX, just gave Micron Technology, the memory chip maker, a terrific boost with a single post on X. Shares of Micron Technology surged more than 5 percent after the post dropped. Musk pointed out that the dynamic random-access memory needed in humanoid robots will exceed everything else on Earth.
According to Counterpoint Research, the research firm that tracks market data, demand from humanoids could increase by almost 21 times between 2026 and 2030. Tesla, the electric vehicle maker, uses 72GB of memory on its AI5 chip powering the Optimus robot, while the newer AI6 chip is equipped with 144GB of memory.
Tesla has already begun production of the Optimus robot and intends to start shipping to customers next year, with Musk predicting production of 1 million units every year at the Fremont factory. Meanwhile, Toyota, the Japanese auto manufacturer, aims to automate its factories by deploying 400,000 robots.
Goldman Sachs, the investment bank, recently increased its humanoid sales forecast for 2035 by 5 times, estimating shipments could reach 6.5 million units and generate $138 billion in revenue. Sanjay Mehrotra, the head of Micron Technology, noted on a recent earnings call that physical AI can become a significant driver of memory demand by the end of the decade.
Micron Technology trades at 13 times earnings as the company prepares for a surge in real-world AI applications.
Photo: Thingreenline4546, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
