Elon Musk says Tesla vehicles are starting to feel less like machines and more like living systems. Speaking on the Dwarkesh Podcast, Elon Musk joked that Teslas are becoming so responsive they almost feel sentient.

Musk said Tesla’s software keeps improving to the point where the car reacts in real time like a creature rather than a tool. That led to a tongue in cheek warning that too much intelligence could create unexpected issues.

“If you put Einstein in a car, he’d wonder why he’s stuck being a car,” Musk said. He suggested there may be a practical limit to how smart a vehicle should be so it does not get bored.

The exchange came during a broader discussion about robotics and AI. Musk confirmed Tesla is moving toward mass manufacturing of its Optimus humanoid robot, signaling confidence in current hardware progress.

From there, the conversation widened beyond cars and robots. Musk said AI compute may soon be cheapest in space due to energy constraints and slow infrastructure growth on Earth.

He argued that orbital data centers powered by solar energy could outperform ground based facilities within a few years. Space based compute would bypass permitting delays and electricity bottlenecks.

Musk also touched on xAI and its Grok model, saying alignment matters but does not need apocalyptic framing. He warned that governments misusing AI could pose a greater risk than the technology itself.

The takeaway was clear. As AI grows more capable, the line between tool and living system keeps blurring, and that shift is arriving faster than most people expect.