Elon Musk recently met with Abdulla Mohammed Butti Alhamed (@AMB_Alhamed), Chairman of the UAE’s National Media Office, at Tesla’s Engineering Headquarters in Palo Alto, California. The two toured Tesla’s Optimus Lab, where they checked out a gold version of the company’s humanoid robot, Optimus.
Alhamed described Musk as “the mind that envisions the future before others can even imagine it,” highlighting their conversation about artificial intelligence as a driving force for humanity’s future. According to Alhamed, Musk expressed confidence that the UAE has the capabilities to play a leading role in the global AI landscape, praising the vision of the country’s leadership and its investments in advanced technology.
A key part of their discussion centered on Tesla’s Optimus robot, which Musk has called one of the most important products in the company’s history. Optimus is also a central pillar of Tesla’s Master Plan Part 4, which outlines a vision for “sustainable abundance” powered by robotics, autonomy, and AI. Musk has previously said that Optimus could ultimately account for more value than Tesla’s automotive business. Back in July, he confirmed that Optimus V3, the latest iteration of the robot, is ready for volume production.
The two also talked about Grok 5, the upcoming version of the large language model being developed by Musk’s AI startup, xAI. Musk described Grok 5 as a system designed to be curious, adaptive, and capable of tackling some of humanity’s most complex challenges, framing it as a true partner in shaping the future.
Their dialogue further touched on opportunities for collaboration between the UAE and Musk’s companies, including joint initiatives in AI, sustainability, media, and education. Alhamed emphasized the UAE’s continued push to forge global partnerships that drive human progress through advanced technologies.
With Tesla scaling Optimus toward production and Musk pushing forward with AI developments at xAI, the meeting underscored how both parties see robotics and digital intelligence as key to the future of work, industry, and society.
