China’s halt this month on exports of magnets containing heavy rare earth metals has affected Tesla’s plans to manufacture Optimus robots.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has said China's rare earth element (REE) restrictions on the US as part of the Washington-Beijing trade war are affecting his company's robot production. Tesla’s net profits in the first quarter dropped 71%, according to CNBC, with Musk saying trade wars have hampered the company's ability to produce Optimus humanoid robots.