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Tesla CEO Elon Musk showcased the company’s humanoid robot, Optimus, which can walk one’s dog, mow the lawn, do household chores, babysit, and even speak GenZ language while showing smooth hand gestures. He unveiled the robots at the ‘We, Robot’ event at Warner Bros. studio in California on October 10.
“Optimus robots will walk among you; please be nice to them,” he says seconds before a line of robots enters the audience.
Multiple videos on X showed the robot interacting with the audience at the event. Upon discovering someone’s birthday, it sang a song and later performed ‘Sunflower’ alongside American rapper Swae Lee. It continued to amaze the audience when a group of Optimus robots entertained the crowd by dancing and serving drinks, all while posing for photos.
When asked if it was smarter than humans, the Optimus robot responded, “I am definitely smart.” At the event, Optimus reads a person’s T-shirt that says, “Robots are coming.” To this, it replies fluently, “We are already here.”
A member of the audience posted on X that he was very impressed by Tesla’s improvements to Optimus. “The additional degrees of freedom noticeably enhance its human-like movement,” he added.
I was really impressed with the improvements made to Optimus. The additional degrees of freedom noticeably enhance its human-like movement. In addition, Optimus was able to engage in conversation, provide witty responses, and even posed for a selfie when I asked. The progress in… pic.twitter.com/1BXZ64sr6P
— Moose 🎈 (@CarpeDiemMoose) October 11, 2024Tesla launched the Optimus Robot at Tesla AI Day in 2022, when Musk estimated the robot to cost much less than a Tesla car, even though the same self-driving computer powers both products. Musk envisions a future where every human on earth wants their own Optimus buddy. Four days ago, in the showcase, he estimated the cost of purchasing your Optimus to be between $20,000 and $30,000 and added that it would decline dramatically.
Human: “What’s the hardest thing about being a robot?”
Tesla Optimus: “Trying to be as human as you are.”
The robot displayed 22 degrees of freedom (DoF), the hand movement capabilities, as it played rock, paper, scissors with a fan at the event. This is a major improvement from the December 2023 update, when Optimus Gen2 displayed 11 DoF and the tactile sensation of handling delicate objects like eggs. Now, it is able to mix and serve drinks at populated events.
As amazing as this revelation sounds, some are still not moved. Quite a few are coming out on X to express their lack of conviction regarding Optimus’s capabilities. Zeff Pena, a financial educator, said, “The robot is remotely controlled for now. But, this alone could be someone’s ‘physical avatar’.”
When talking about Tesla’s tele-control, the question is whether it should be revealed. But tech enthusiasts feel the focus needs to be on demonstrating dexterity, not completely on autonomy. Since autonomy is Tesla’s strength, it will be achieved with time.
In time, the robot started to pick up and organise items with improved actuators and sensors, perform yoga with a 2-degree-of-freedom (DoF) actuated neck, and move through its environment with a walking speed increased by 30%, thanks to new electric motors. It also introduced enhancements like torque sensing, articulated toe sections, and a human-like foot design.
Optimus has come a long way since its prototype launch in 2022, when it could only wave on the stage.
