During Tesla’s annual stockholder meeting on Thursday, CEO Elon Musk shared a significant update on the company’s humanoid robot project, Optimus. The robot, which has made considerable progress in a short period of time, was showcased performing a task autonomously at a Tesla factory in Fremont, California. In the video, Optimus walked at a steady pace and efficiently placed battery cells into crates, demonstrating its capabilities in a real-world setting.
Musk highlighted the robot’s progress, stating that it has evolved from a prototype that was “pretending to be a robot” to a functioning robot performing useful tasks in the factory. He emphasized that Optimus has already been integrated into Tesla’s production lines, with two robots currently working in the Fremont factory, and a few more roaming around their offices in Palo Alto, California.
The CEO revealed that one major hardware revision is scheduled to be completed by the end of this year or early next, which will pave the way for limited production of the robot. He predicted that by next year, Tesla will have “over a thousand, maybe a few thousand” Optimus robots working in its factories, highlighting the company’s capabilities for mass production, engineering, and AI and software development.
While Musk did not provide insight into how Optimus will impact Tesla’s human workforce, he has previously stated that the robot’s primary goal is to eliminate dangerous, repetitive, and boring tasks. In the future, Optimus is expected to become highly autonomous, allowing humans to provide instructions and even learn tasks by watching videos.
Elon Musk (Via Elon Musk/Twitter)
The potential for widespread adoption of humanoid robots like Optimus is significant, with Musk forecasting that the ratio of humanoid robots to humans will eventually be greater than one to one. Tesla aims to be “by far the leader” in this area, which could have far-reaching implications for various industries.
The advancements made by Optimus demonstrate Tesla’s commitment to exploring the potential of humanoid robots. With its ability to perform tasks autonomously and learn from video tutorials, Optimus has the potential to significantly impact various sectors, from manufacturing to healthcare. As the technology continues to evolve, it will be interesting to see how Optimus is integrated into Tesla’s operations and how it might change the way humans work alongside robots in the future.
