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Elon Musk’s Davos debut highlights AI growth, robotaxis and humanoid robots, while China disputes Tesla’s self-driving approval claims.

Elon Musk has made his first appearance at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, using the global stage to share sweeping predictions about artificial intelligence, robotics, and Tesla’s future.

Speaking on Thursday during a public discussion with BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, the Tesla chief executive laid out ambitious timelines that briefly lifted investor confidence and pushed Tesla’s share price higher.

Musk said Tesla expects regulatory approval for its Full Self-Driving (FSD) system in Europe “hopefully next month,” adding that China could follow on a similar timeline.

The comments helped drive Tesla shares up by more than three percent shortly after the session. However, the optimism was quickly challenged.

China’s state-owned China Daily reported on Friday that a government source dismissed Musk’s proposed approval timeline as inaccurate, suggesting regulatory clearance may take longer than Tesla anticipates.

On the same day as his Davos appearance, Musk revealed that Tesla has begun operating some robotaxi vehicles in Austin, Texas, without human safety drivers.

The company launched a supervised version of the service in June, and Musk said the next phase marks a major step forward. 

He predicted that robotaxi services would become widely available across the United States before the end of the year.

The projection adds to a long list of bold forecasts from Musk. In 2019, he had predicted more than one million robotaxis would already be operating by 2020.

Musk also shared updates on Tesla’s Optimus humanoid robots, saying they are already performing simple factory tasks.

He expects the robots to handle more advanced industrial work before the end of the year. According to Musk, Tesla could begin selling humanoid robots to the public by the end of 2027.

“There will be more robots than people,” he said, predicting a future where machines meet most human needs.

On artificial intelligence, Musk offered his most aggressive forecast yet. He said AI could become smarter than any single human before the end of this year, or by next year at the latest.

Looking further ahead, he predicted that by 2030 or 2031, AI could surpass the combined intelligence of all humanity.

Despite the optimism, Musk urged caution. He warned that unchecked progress in AI and robotics could have serious consequences, referencing science fiction scenarios like The Terminator.