Elon Musk is throwing the distant dream of a 'sentient' Optimus robot at Tesla's shareholders

• Elon Musk doesn't think Tesla should be viewed as just another auto company.

• Musk told investors on Tuesday that Tesla's Optimus robots are its most valuable asset.

• "We should be thought of as an AI or robotics company," Musk said.

Tesla's Optimus robots could become the company's most valuable asset, says the company's CEO Elon Musk.

"As I've said before, I think Optimus will be more valuable than everything else combined," Musk said in an earnings call on Tuesday.

"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," he added.

During the call, Musk told investors that the Optimus can perform "simple factory tasks in the lab" before offering a rough timeline on when he thinks the robots would be rolled out.

"We do think we will have Optimus in limited production in the natural factory itself, doing useful tasks before the end of this year," Musk said. "And then I think we may be able to sell it externally by the end of next year. These are just guesses."

Musk's bullish remarks about Tesla's work in robotics come as the EV giant struggles with declining sales. On Tuesday, the company announced its quarterly revenue dropped by 9% year-over-year. This fall is Tesla's biggest revenue drop since 2012.