Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) has filed many patents and trademarks over the years, some that it wins and some it doesn’t get. A newly granted patent could pull double duty at protecting two of the company's biggest future revenue drivers.
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Tesla's Newest Patent
A new patent from Tesla targets the company's robotaxis and the Optimus Humanoid Bot.
Patent No. 12,636,684 was granted to Tesla recently, as reported by Teslarati, citing a user on social media.
The patent was submitted in May 2025 and covers a "Lens Cleaning System" that can be used by both products. The system dispenses fluid and uses wipers to wipe it away.
Similar to wipers on the windshield of a vehicle, the patent could see the cameras on Tesla robotaxis have mini-wipers that can clean themselves. This would help the vehicles to clean debris from roads and not need manual human interaction to keep the vehicles on the road.
Teslarati previously shared a video of a Model Y robotaxi unit that had camera washing devices similar to what the patent describes.
For the Optimus, the patent for the cleaning process for the eyes could look and sound similar to humans and processes like tears or water being wiped by wipers across the eyes.
This could be the method Tesla uses to keep the cameras in the eyes of the Optimus clean. The eyes of the humanoid robot will play a central role in what the device can see.
Tesla could also choose to have manual cleaning options for owners of the humanoid bots.
Robotaxis, Optimus Importance Rising
Tesla recently ended production of the Model S and Model X electric vehicles. The production change comes with Tesla now ready to ramp up production of the Optimus bot and robotaxis.
The electric vehicle company and CEO Elon Musk are placing a firm bet on the future of the company being more about robotics, AI and self-driving.
Patents for the robotaxi and Optimus could prove key to differentiate themselves from competitors in both robotics and self-driving vehicles with Tesla facing competition in both.
Having a patent that covers both Tesla devices could be strategic in the production process as well.
Musk has a belief that Tesla will be worth $20 trillion or more someday, saying that 80% of the value could be tied to Optimus and the majority of the future valuation coming from robotics, AI and autonomous vehicles.
Image via Shutterstock
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