Controversial tech tycoon and X owner Elon Musk has announced that car manufacturer Tesla may start selling its Optimus humanoid robot next year.
The automaker even plans to use the robot in its own factory production line by the end of the year. Tesla unveiled “Optimus Gen 2”, a few months ago and they believe the new generation of its humanoid robot should be able to take over repetitive tasks from humans.
The latest prototype showed extensive improvements compared to previously slightly underwhelming versions of the robot. The latest iteration gave some credibility to the project, which was laughed off by many when first announced with a somewhat comical dancer disguised as a robot a few years ago.
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Musk has been quick to praise the latest project (VCG via Getty Images)Tesla thought it could use its AI work from developing self-driving vehicle programs and Tesla's expertise in batteries and electric motors for the humanoid robot. They believe its vehicles are already robots on wheels. They are now trying to make them in humanoid forms to be able to replace humans in some tasks, primarily completing repetitive and dangerous tasks.
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In a previous update on Optimus, Musk claimed that the “Optimus stuff is extremely underrated.” The CEO believes that the demand could be as high as 10 to 20 billion units on release. He went as far as “confidently predicting” that Optimus will make up “a majority of Tesla’s long-term value.”
Alongside the release of the company's Q1 2024 financial results, Musk gave this update on the timing for the rollout of Optimus. The CEO claimed that Optimus is already performing factory tasks inside its lab and he is convinced that Optimus will be used to perform real tasks inside actual Tesla factories by the end of this year.
The humanoid is already performing repetitive tasks (Tesla)Musk believes Tesla could start selling its Optimus humanoid robot to customers outside of the company by the end of 2025. Musk previously said that he expects Optimus to retail for “less than half of a car”, around $25,000.
Despite their technological developments, Tesla remains embroiled in a range of lawsuits, including by the California and federal governments, alleging a culture racism at the Fremont factory where four of their car models are manufactured. Some critics also believe Musk's erratic behavior and controversial political views could also be to blame for the company's struggles.
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