At Tesla’s “AI Day,” Elon Musk unveils the company’s latest robot

At Tesla’s “AI Day” event on Friday, CEO Elon Musk demonstrated his much-touted humanoid robot “Optimus.”

In the very first moments of AI Day 2022, Tesla took to the stage to show off a prototype of its Tesla Bot. A robot affectionately named “Bumble-Cee” was on display; it was assembled from store-bought parts. Another robot, still in development, was built with custom Tesla components such as actuators.

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, has said that the company plans to use Optimus to help out in the company’s own manufacturing facilities. The electric vehicle manufacturer shared a video of a prototype Optimus bot at work in the Fremont Factory on AI Day 2022. In the video, a robot was seen moving metal bars around a factory floor, watering plants, and carrying a box.

Musk stated at the event held at Tesla’s Palo Alto, California office, “Our goal is to make a useful humanoid robot as quickly as possible.” Much more effort is needed to perfect Optimus and establish its validity.

After a brief on-stage demonstration of the Optimus prototype’s capabilities, Tesla showed a video of “Bumble-Cee” in action at the Fremont factory. The robot was shown in the video performing a number of different functions, including delivering packages and working on the production line.

Musk has stated that current humanoid robots are “missing a brain,” meaning they lack the intelligence to navigate the world on their own, and that they are also very expensive and produced in low volume.

He contrasted this with Optimus, saying that this “extremely capable robot” would be manufactured in very large numbers, potentially in the millions.

But Elon Musk’s post-demo comments on the Optimus were perhaps the most intriguing part of the whole thing. The CEO claims that Optimus is an affordable product for the masses, with an expected retail price of less than $20,000. That’s very close to the current cost of Full Self-Driving and significantly cheaper than Tesla’s Model 3, their most reasonably priced vehicle.

Experts in robotics have said that Tesla doesn’t need a bipedal robot to improve automation in its factories, but Tesla workers have been vocal about their commitment to the human form on Friday. Workers also claimed they were developing a unique battery and actuators for their robots to minimise power consumption, allowing the machines to operate for an entire day without recharging.

Musk said, “We’re holding this AI Day event and showcasing our robot prototype to convince some of the most talented people in the world like you guys to join Tesla and help make it a reality.”

Humanoid robots, according to the CEO, “can help millions of people” and usher in “a future of abundance, a future where there is no poverty, where people you can have whatever you want in terms of products and services”

Musk, in his typical spectacular style, proclaimed, “It really is a fundamental transformation of civilisation as we know it.”