Tesla boss Elon Musk says the electric car maker will start producing and using humanoid robots from next year.

In a social media post, Mr Musk said the robots will first be used by Tesla, which will start making them to sell in 2026.

The announcement came as the technology billionaire has been pushing to cut costs at Tesla in the face of weakening demand for its cars.

The company reported that profits had dropped by nearly half for the three months to the end of June, falling from $2.7bn (£2.09bn) to less than $1.5bn (£1.16bn), as a sales slump weighed on the bottom line.

"Overall, our focus remains on company-wide cost reduction," the company said on Tuesday in an update for investors.

Tesla said its automotive revenue fell 7% year-on-year in the quarter, despite a flurry of price cuts and other incentives aimed at enticing customers.

It still eked out an overall revenue rise of 2%, thanks to growth in its energy storage business.

Tesla's shares fell by almost 8% in after-hours trading.

Mr Musk's businesses have been increasingly focusing on technologies such as artificial intelligence, autonomous driving and robots at a time of slowing demand for electric vehicles.

Mr Musk had previously said he expected the robot, called Optimus, to be ready for use in Tesla factories by the end of this year.

"Tesla will have genuinely useful humanoid robots in low production for Tesla internal use next year and, hopefully, high production for other companies in 2026," Mr Musk said on his social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

Other firms, including Honda and Boston Dynamics, have also been developing their own humanoid robots.

Tesla has said it aims to build an "autonomous humanoid robot" to perform "unsafe, repetitive or boring tasks."

Mr Musk has previously said Tesla aimed for the robots to be mass produced and cost less than $20,000 (£17,900) each.

He is known for setting ambitious timelines for his companies, which he has not always met.

In 2019, he said he felt "very confident" Tesla would have self-driving taxis on the road by the following year.

Earlier this year, Mr Musk said the long-awaited robo-taxi would be unveiled on 8 August, but that event has reportedly been delayed.