Marc Benioff, the co-founder and CEO of Salesforce, posted a new video of Tesla’s Optimus, hailing it as the dawn of the physical “Agentforce” revolution and a productivity game changer.
The post from Marc Benioff is an example of how the business world, even one focused on software, is beginning to see the immense potential of humanoid robots in corporate and commercial environments. Even if a robot doesn’t add value to the core business, you can see how a polished version of Optimus could be beneficial for almost any business.
Optimus Improvements
There are a few aspects that make this video interesting. Musk stated back in July that Tesla was integrating Grok into Optimus, and this is our first time seeing that in action. You can see how it really makes Optimus come to life — even if it’s a bit robotic (ba-dum-tss!).
While Optimus is a little clunky and requires more physical space to move in the video, it’s easy to see how quickly Tesla is iterating on Optimus.
While a lot of what we’ve seen from Optimus lately, such as the popcorn vendor at the Tesla Diner, is done through tele-operating, meaning that there’s someone in a suit filled with sensors somewhere who can see what Optimus is seeing. The sensors on the tele-operator then tell Optimus how to move.
While it’s still impressive, this video offers a more raw look at the current state of Optimus. Another striking feature in the video is Optimus’ hands. While these hands look a lot more human-like, they don’t appear to be functional. Musk recently stated that Tesla is designing version 3 of Optimus, but he clarified that this video represents Optimus 2.5 and it’s not the upcoming third generation of Optimus.
Elon’s Tesla Optimus 🤖🔥 is here! Dawn of the physical Agentforce revolution, tackling human work for $200K–$500K. Productivity game-changer! Congrats @elonmusk, and thank you for always being so kind to me! 🚀 #Tesla #Optimus pic.twitter.com/bA5IYIylE1
— Marc Benioff (@Benioff) September 3, 2025
Valuing the Work, Not the Robot
One of the most intriguing parts of Benioff’s post was his valuation of Optimus’ contribution. He described Optimus as taking on $200K to $500K worth of work. This isn’t a speculation on Optimus’ potential pricing, which Elon has previously suggested could be as low as $20,000 once it hits mass production, but rather an enterprise-level valuation of the labor that Optimus can perform annually. Obviously, it’s not there yet, but this is the first time we’re seeing Grok integrated into Optimus, which makes the robot immediately more useful.
From a business perspective, this reframes Optimus entirely. It isn’t just a machine; it’s a productivity asset whose value is measured by the cost of the skilled human work it can automate or augment. For a company like Salesforce, which is focused on business efficiency, this high return on investment is a crucial metric.
Benioff’s valuation suggests he sees Optimus as a tool capable of performing high-value tasks that would otherwise require a significant investment. The future will have Optimus take over tasks that are managed by humans today, and humans will either perform work that Optimus is not capable of or they’ll manage and use Optimus as a tool to be even more productive.
The “Agentforce” Vision
Benioff’s coining of the term physical Agentforce is another interesting factor. In the world of AI, an agent is a piece of software that can autonomously perform tasks. By calling Optimus a physical Agentforce, Benioff is suggesting a future where these software agents are given bodies to interact with and to perform functions in the real, physical world.
This vision aligns perfectly with the content of the video shared. The footage doesn’t show Otpimus on a factory line, but instead navigating a human-centric office environment. The robot is seen responding to queries, helping to locate items, and assisting with simple tasks. While Optimus’ movements are still stiff and cautious, the demonstration is clearly focused on its future potential as an interactive assistant in a corporate or commercial setting. One of the first applications for this type of agent could be in a retail or restaurant setting, where robots manage everyday tasks such as delivering food or taking orders, while humans perform more specialized tasks that require human-level attention and understanding.
This high-profile endorsement from one of the most respected leaders in the tech industry is a massive vote of confidence in Tesla’s approach to physical AI and robotics. It’s a sign that the business world is watching the Optimus program not just with simple curiosity but is now beginning to calculate its transformative potential.
