Samsung Display has officially signed a deal with Tesla to supply OLED screens, quite potentially for use in Optimus robots, starting in 2027.
A few weeks ago, it was reported that Samsung Electronics had earned a $16.5 billion contract from Tesla for supplying semiconductor chips. Then, recently, the company has earned a contract to become “Eyes” for Tesla’s AI robot Optimus by providing integrated camera modules for Optimus.
Now, a new report from the Korea Industry Post revealed that Samsung Display will produce 8-inch OLED screens for Tesla. Currently, the Model S, 3, X, and Y electric cars already have 8-inch LCD screens for the rear seats, which are used to adjust the air conditioning system and access entertainment. Although switching to OLED in electric cars is not considered to bring several benefits, particularly in the context of slowing demand for electric cars and firms wanting to reduce costs.
Since Tesla vehicles use LCD panels and there’s a tiny inducement incentive in switching to OLEDs, the insight is that perhaps this alleged deal has to do with Tesla’s Optimus humanoid robots.
This has forced many sources to believe that the OLED screens provided by Samsung will be used for another product, most expectedly the humanoid robot Optimus. Tesla is looking forward to commercializing Optimus as early as 2026.
Reportedly, in the early stages, Optimus is expected to serve in industrial environments, so a visual display would be useful. Once it enters the consumer market, the display could also become a channel for expressing human emotions. It seems that with a hemispherical curved face design, it makes more sense to use OLED instead of LCD, since OLED does not require a backlight, can be seamlessly and flexibly bent, and is also a light and energy-saving factor for mobile robots.
Regarding this, an industry expert stated that “Samsung is the only company that can provide advanced foundry services and also supply many other electronic components at the corporate level. This is a big advantage when negotiating with leading technology companies like Tesla.”
