A group of Tesla’s Optimus humanoid robots accompanied the reveal of Tesla’s new Robovan vehicle at tonight’s Cybercab event. The robot is also seen in a video performing everyday human tasks, such as removing a package from the porch and watering plants.
“The Optimus will walk among you,” says Tesla CEO Elon Musk. “You’ll be able to walk up to them and they’ll serve you drinks.”
Musk explains that he can basically “do anything” and mentions examples such as walking your dog, taking care of your kids, mowing your lawn, serving you drinks, etc. He said it will cost between $20,000 and $30,000 “in the long run.”
“I think this will be the greatest product ever created,” says Musk.
After the presentation, live-streamed footage showed people interacting with Optimus robots at tables and among crowds. Still, the robots didn’t do much more than wave hello in the style of Astrobot. There was a drinks table, but the Optimus robot was not seen doing more than holding a cup of ice. However, a robot could deliver small gift bags to another table and play rock-paper-scissors with guests. And there was a closed viewing platform with a group of robots dancing inside.
The Tesla robot was not a serious product when Musk first revealed the project in 2021, when a man in a robot suit took the stage to perform a silly dance. But in 2022, the company showed off a crude prototype that cautiously took the stage.
Musk has loftily promised that Optimus will be a “fundamental transformation for civilization.” And he raised other more important ones for investors: that it will bring “two orders of magnitude” of potential improvement in economic production and that it can be “manufactured in very high volume, ultimately millions of units.” Musk said it would cost around “$20,000” and allow for “a future where there is no poverty.”