The Trump administration goes all in! Reportedly considering issuing a robotics executive order next year, iRobot surged nearly 80% intraday.

```

The Trump administration's push to develop the robotics industry sent related concept stocks soaring during the trading session.

On Wednesday, the 3rd Eastern Time, media reported that U.S. Commerce Secretary Lutnick had recently been meeting frequently with CEOs from the robotics industry, expressing "all-in" support for the industry's accelerated development. It was also revealed that the Trump administration is considering issuing an executive order on robotics next year. This news indicates that, following artificial intelligence (AI), the robotics industry is becoming the next major battleground for the U.S. in competition with other global economic powers.

In early trading on Wednesday, iRobot (IRBT) shares surged, rising more than 79% at their daily high and leading robotics-related stocks. Tesla gained up to 3.5%, Serve Robotics (SERV) rose more than 9% during the session, Richtech Robotics (RR) was up over 7% at one point, WeRide (WRD) was up nearly 5%, and Teradyne (TER) rose more than 2%.

The report stated that a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Commerce confirmed the commitment to the robotics industry, saying, "We are committed to robotics and advanced manufacturing because they are critical to bringing key production back to the U.S." This marks another pledge to a high-tech industry five months after the Trump administration released its AI acceleration plan.

Trump Administration Advances Robotics Strategy Across Departments

Media sources on Wednesday, citing insiders, said the U.S. Department of Transportation is preparing to announce the formation of a robotics task force, possibly to be unveiled before the end of the year.

The U.S. Congress is also showing growing interest in the robotics industry. Republican lawmakers have proposed an amendment to revise the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to establish a national robotics committee. Although the amendment was not included in the final bill, other legislative efforts are ongoing.

This series of actions demonstrates that robotics is becoming the next important frontier for the U.S. in competition with other major economies. It is the latest example of the Trump administration embracing industrial policy, attempting to compete in critical areas such as AI.

According to estimates from the International Federation of Robotics, as of 2023, Chinese factories have 1.8 million industrial robots, four times that of the U.S. China, Japan, Australia, Germany, and Singapore have all developed national robotics plans.

Massive Investment Influx

The U.S. needs substantial investment to catch up with other economies in the robotics sector. Data from CB Insights expects funding in this field to reach $2.3 billion by 2025, double last year's total. Goldman Sachs estimates that by 2035 the global humanoid robot market could reach $38 billion.

The robotics industry has been pushing government officials and lawmakers to get involved. The sector hopes to obtain U.S. government tax incentives or federal grants to help integrate advanced automation technologies, strengthen supply chains, and achieve large-scale deployment. They also hope to use trade policy to address other countries' subsidies and intellectual property practices.

Jeff Cardenas, CEO of U.S. humanoid robot startup Apptronik, valued at $5 billion, said: "We need to participate and consider developing a national robotics strategy to support America's emerging industry and remain competitive."

Apptronik's general-purpose robot Apollo is one of the first humanoid robots operating in automotive factories. In February this year, the company announced the completion of a $350 million Series A funding round, with Google participating.

Tech Giants Bet On "Physical AI"

According to media reports, Wednesday's earlier report described the Trump administration's support for the robotics sector as the White House's focus shifting from AI to robotics, but essentially it is an extension of the same theme. Leading AI companies like Nvidia are heavily investing in "Physical AI," which is actually the core technology behind robotics and autonomous driving.

SoftBank's CFO stated last month that the company's $5.8 billion sale of Nvidia shares in October was unrelated to the chip designer itself. SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son elaborated earlier this week: it is not mechanical robots that will change the world, but "Physical AI embodied in robots."

At the FII Priority Asia Forum on Monday, Masayoshi Son said he "cried" when selling Nvidia shares. He said: "I wish I had unlimited funds. I really respect Jensen (Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang), really respect Nvidia; I did not want to sell a single share. I just needed more money to invest in OpenAI and other opportunities, so I cried when selling Nvidia shares. If I had more money, I would of course want to hold Nvidia shares forever."

SoftBank needs to pay $22.5 billion to OpenAI before the end of the year to increase its stake in the ChatGPT developer. SoftBank's AI plans also include massive investments in OpenAI and data center site selection as part of Project Stargate.

Masayoshi Son also rebutted critics who say the influx of capital into AI is a bubble, calling them "not smart enough." He believes that within ten years AI will be much smarter than humans, and "at least 10%" of global GDP will be replaced by superintelligent, physical AI robots. If it takes $10 trillion in investment to achieve this goal, then the cumulative capital expenditure will be recouped within just six months.

Elon Musk: Robotics Is the Only Solution to the Debt Crisis

Tesla CEO Elon Musk said in a podcast released last Sunday that he believes AI-driven robots increasing productivity and output is the only solution to the U.S. debt of over $38 trillion.

Musk said:

"I think this is almost the only way to solve the U.S. debt crisis, because U.S. debt is ridiculously high right now. The interest on the debt exceeds the entire U.S. military budget—just the interest payments, and at least in the short term, this will continue to increase."

"So I think, in fact, the only thing that can solve the debt issue is AI and robotics."

Musk stated that since AI and robotics may lead to a substantial increase in output, it is likely to cause deflation—the opposite of inflation, leading to a decline in price levels. He said: "If you have AI and robots, and a large increase in the output of goods and services, you may end up with deflation. This seems highly likely. Because you simply can't increase the money supply as fast as the output of goods and services."

When asked about the current U.S. inflation rate still above the Federal Reserve's 2% target, Musk said AI has not yet sufficiently increased productivity to cause deflation. He said: "AI hasn't had enough impact on productivity yet to make the growth in goods and services outpace money supply. The U.S. is significantly increasing money supply at a deficit of about $2 trillion, so you have to make the output of goods and services grow faster than that number to avoid inflation."

Musk estimates that in about three years or less, the growth in goods and services will surpass the growth in money supply, at which point AI and robotics technology will reshape the economy and monetary system. "We're not there yet," he said.

He said: "I think at some point, if you have AI and robots manufacturing chips and solar panels, mining resources to make chips and robots... you complete that loop, and once that's done, I think that's the moment you decouple from the monetary system."

Risk Disclosure and DisclaimerThe market carries risks. Investments should be made cautiously. This article does not constitute personal investment advice and does not take into account individual users' special investment objectives, financial situation, or needs. Users should consider whether any opinions, viewpoints, or conclusions in this article are appropriate for their specific circumstances. Investments made on this basis are at their own risk. ```