humanoid

As well as making his robots in Asia, Mr Pierce is keeping costs down by not going for the full humanoid form.

In the company’s quarterly webcast, Musk touted the potential of autonomous driving and said that Optimus, Tesla’s humanoid robot, would lower labor costs and increase productivity.

Several sporting events slated for the weekend have been suspended, including the world's first humanoid robot half marathon, which will now be held on 19 April.

He told the BBC he hoped the device could eventually allow him to control his wheelchair, or even a futuristic humanoid robot.

He said that the first Mars mission would carry the Tesla humanoid robot "Optimus", which was shown to the public last year.