The Financial Post reports in its Friday edition that Tesla expects billions of dollars in additional spending this year to support Elon Musk's ambitions to transform the electric-vehicle pioneer into an artificial intelligence and robotics company. A Bloomberg dispatch to the Post says capital expenditures in 2026 will exceed $25-billion (U.S.), the company disclosed along with its earnings Wednesday, roughly three times last year's outlay. The planned investment is up from a prior forecast of around $20-billion (U.S.). "You should expect to see a very significant increase in capital expenditure," Mr. Musk said on a conference call with analysts. The investments will be put toward a dramatic expansion of factory operations, including production of Optimus humanoid robots, AI initiatives and the autonomous Cybercab. Tesla's traditional auto business has declined the past two years, putting greater pressure on the planned pivot to those futuristic initiatives. The revised spending plan shows the heavy cost for Tesla to achieve its goals, said Dec Mullarkey, managing director at SLC Management. It's "sobering up the assessment of free cash flow potential for the year." Tesla is buying an unidentified AI hardware company.