Elon Musk said that China's new trade restrictions on rare earth magnets have affected the production of Tesla's Optimus humanoid robots. He added that the company was working through the issue with Beijing and hoped to get approval to access the critical components.

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

Tesla Inc.’s production of Optimus, a robot that promises to take over household chores, has been disrupted by China’s curbs on rare earth exports, introduced by Beijing earlier this month in an escalating trade war with Washington.