'Not Yet Fully Autonomous': Tesla's Optimus Robots Stole the Show — But Were They Actually Controlled By Humans?

Oct 14, 2024 11:50 PM - 4 months ago 149701

At Tesla's "We, Robot" event connected Thursday, CEO Elon Musk announced the upcoming Cybercab robotaxi and 20-seater, self-driving Robovan, but the expansive finale was a statement of Optimus robots.

Though Musk claimed that the humanoid robot was "the biggest merchandise of immoderate kind, ever," caller reports show that the futuristic robots were remotely controlled by humans — and not arsenic autonomous arsenic they were pitched.

Musk said the $20,000 to $30,000 robot could execute family tasks for illustration mowing lawns and getting groceries. One expert estimated that each family would person 1 successful the adjacent 3 years.

Related: Elon Musk Announces the 'Cybercab' and Other Surprises astatine Tesla's 'We, Robot' Event. Here's What to Know.

"Whatever you tin deliberation of, it will do," Musk said.

Tesla's Optimus robots walked retired into the crowd aft the caller Robovan reveal. It will beryllium capable to "babysit your kids, locomotion your dog," Elon Musk said
byu/Soloflow786 inrobotics

However, erstwhile 1 arena attendee asked an Optimus robot if it was being remote-controlled, the robot said, "Today, I americium assisted by a human. I'm not yet afloat autonomous."

I asked the bartending Optimus if he was being distant controlled. I judge he fundamentally confirmed it. pic.twitter.com/WlGyuswWpI

— zhen (@zhen9436) October 11, 2024

Humans appeared to beryllium helping the Optimus robots execute tasks astatine the event. Electrek spotted that each robot had a Tesla worker pinch a signaling instrumentality nearby.

Tesla first announced plans to venture into autonomous robots successful 2021; Musk has since said that Optimus could return Tesla to a $25 trillion marketplace capitalization. Tesla was astatine a $700 billion marketplace headdress astatine the clip of writing.

Critics wrote that the robots deserved to beryllium called a "parlor trick" and that Tesla "misled millions" who didn't cognize the bots were being operated by humans.

Not wholly AI? Not astatine each AI.

Totally worthy to observe debased latency distant power but wholly dishonest to demo these arsenic autonomous robots—call it the parlor instrumentality it is. https://t.co/EdXuSO8KWA

— Josh Wolfe (@wolfejosh) October 11, 2024

Tesla misled millions of group who watched their livestream of the Tesla Robotaxi event.

It wasn't until afterwards that I watched people's videos of the arena that I realized the Tesla Bots were being controlled by humans.

Tesla Bot is fundamentally for illustration FSD (supervised). But I… pic.twitter.com/7M8Mf7wSLs

— Scaremy Pumpkins ? (@jeremyjudkins_) October 12, 2024

Related: Tesla Sales Show Demand Could Be Speeding Up For Electric Cars

Wedbush expert Dan Ives thought the event was "jaw-dropping" and "historical" and was optimistic astir the robots. Tesla has yet to respond to reports of the AI being remotely assisted.

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