Automakers are racing to build the first car plant where robots, not people, handle every task from welding to final inspection. The vision of a fully automated “dark factory” is no longer science fiction but a concrete target for the next decade,

CEO Elon Musk says the company will close down production of two older car models, S and X, and convert the Fremont factory to produce its Optimus robots instead.

With short supply lines and cutthroat competition, Chinese EV brands are making huge advances in related fields such as automation and robotics.