Optimus, also known as Tesla Bot, is a conceptual general-purpose

robot A robot is a machine—especially one programmable by a computer—capable of carrying out a complex series of actions automatically. A robot can be guided by an external control device, or the control may be embedded within. Robots may be ...

humanoid A humanoid (; from English ''human'' and '' -oid'' "resembling") is a non-human entity with human form or characteristics. The earliest recorded use of the term, in 1870, referred to indigenous peoples in areas colonized by Europeans. By the 20 ...

under development by

Tesla, Inc. Tesla, Inc. ( or ) is an American multinational automotive and clean energy company headquartered in Austin, Texas. Tesla designs and manufactures electric vehicles (electric cars and electric truck, trucks), battery energy storage from ...

It was announced at the company's Artificial Intelligence (AI) Day event on August 19, 2021. CEO

Elon Musk Elon Reeve Musk ( ; born June 28, 1971) is a business magnate and investor. He is the founder, CEO and chief engineer of SpaceX; angel investor, CEO and product architect of Tesla, Inc.; owner and CEO of Twitter, Inc.; founder of The ...

claimed during the event that Tesla would likely build a prototype by 2022. Musk is on record having said that he thinks Optimus "has the potential to be more significant than the vehicle business over time."

History

On April 7, 2022, a display for the product was featured at the Tesla

Giga Texas Gigafactory Texas (also known as Giga Texas or Gigafactory 5) is an automotive manufacturing facility near Austin, Texas built by Tesla, Inc. Construction began in July 2020, limited production of Model Y began before the end of 2021,

manufacturing facility during the Cyber Rodeo event. Musk said that he hopes to have the robot production-ready by 2023 and claimed Optimus will eventually be able to do "anything that humans don’t want to do." In June 2022, Musk announced the display model at (AI) Day event and the Giga Texas opening will not look anything like the first prototype that Tesla hopes to unveil later in 2022. In September 2022, semi-functional prototypes of Optimus were displayed at Tesla's second AI Day. One prototype was able to walk about the stage and another, sleeker version could move its arms.

Specifications

Tesla Bot is planned to measure tall and weigh . According to the presentation made during the first AI Day event, a Tesla Bot will be "controlled by the same AI system Tesla is developing for the

advanced driver-assistance system An advanced driver-assistance system (ADAS) is any of a groups of electronic technologies that assist drivers in driving and parking functions. Through a safe human-machine interface, ADAS increase car and road safety. ADAS uses automated technol ...

used in its cars" and have a carrying capacity of . Proposed tasks for the product are ones that are "dangerous, repetitive and boring", such as providing manufacturing assistance.

Reception

Initial reactions

Soon after the event, many publications reacted with skepticism about the proposed product. ''

Bloomberg News Bloomberg News (originally Bloomberg Business News) is an international news agency headquartered in New York City and a division of Bloomberg L.P. Content produced by Bloomberg News is disseminated through Bloomberg Terminals, Bloomberg Televi ...

'' claimed that such a product constituted "

mission creep Mission creep is the gradual or incremental expansion of an intervention, project or mission, beyond its original scope, focus or goals, a ratchet effect spawned by initial success. Mission creep is usually considered undesirable due to how each s ...

" and stood outside "the company’s clean-energy initiatives." ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large n ...

'' argued that "Tesla has a history of exaggerating timelines and overpromising at its product unveilings and investor presentations." ''

The Verge ''The Verge'' is an American technology news website operated by Vox Media, publishing news, feature stories, guidebooks, product reviews, consumer electronics news, and podcasts. The website launched on November 1, 2011, and uses Vox Media' ...

'' similarly noted that "Tesla’s history is littered with fanciful ideas that never panned out... it’s anyone’s guess as to whether a working Tesla Bot will ever see the light of day" and, in an editorial, described the Tesla Bot reveal as a "bizarre and brilliant bit of

tomfoolery ''Tomfoolery'' (or ''Tom Foolery'') is a musical revue based on the songs of American satirist Tom Lehrer. Devised and produced by Cameron Mackintosh, it premiered in London at the Criterion Theatre, directed by Gillian Lynne, on 5 June 1980, w ...

". The progress made with the prototypes shown at the second AI Day was praised by some commentators. Other commentators stipulated that all that was shown in these latest presentations had already been accomplished by other robotics programs, and that there appears to be little to suggest Tesla could "outpace other companies working on similar things."

Expert opinions

Carl Berry, a lecturer of robotics engineering, described the AI Day presentation as "the usual overblown hype." Following the Tesla Bot display at the Cyber Rodeo event, scientist

Gary Marcus Gary F. Marcus (born February 8, 1970) is a professor emeritus of psychology and neural science at New York University. In 2014 he founded Geometric Intelligence, a machine-learning company later acquired by Uber. Marcus's books include ''Guitar ...

stated he would "bet that no robot will be able to do all human tasks by the end of 2023." '' Deutsche Welle'' cited experts who called it a "complete and utter scam", questioned how advanced it really was, and criticized the choice of a humanoid form.

References

{{Tesla, Inc. Tesla, Inc. Robotic manipulation