Last year, at the first edition of the Tesla AI Day, Elon Musk promised a humanoid robot. Back then, he had a person dressed as a robot on stage, but this year, he brought not just one, but two robot prototypes on stage, the Bumble C and Optimus.
On Friday, Tesla Inc. CEO Elon Musk introduced the prototype of its humanoid robot at the start of Tesla AI Day 2022. Over time, the prototype carried many names, having started as Tesla Bot and ending up as Optimus along the way. But this year, there were two prototypes on stage with him.
The first one, called Bumble C, was able to walk on stage by itself for the first time, no strings attached or backup support. The robot did well as it walked by itself, moving its legs and arms in a swift motion. He was also able to wave at the crowd and do some simple dance moves.
They proceeded to show some videos of it doing some simple tasks, like picking up boxes and carrying them, watering plants, or lifting metal bars at a production station.
Bumble C wasn't the main robot they wanted to show, but the latest generation of the Optimus. At the moment, it isn't able to walk yet, but Musk said it will be able to do so in a few weeks. They rolled it out on a platform and was able to do a slow wave to the crowd. The robot showed fewer cables than Bumble C and looked more compact and refined, but Musk admitted that "there's still a lot of work to be done to refine Optimus and prove it," adding "I think Optimus is going to be incredible in five or 10 years, like mind blowing."
The next-generation Tesla Bot will have Tesla-designed components at its core, powered by a 2.3-kWh battery pack placed in its torso and good for about a day's worth of work, a chip system, and actuators to drive its limbs. It also comes with the same "self-driving computer" found inside Tesla vehicles. The robot is designed to weigh 161 lb (73 kg).
Musk predicted the humanoid robot would sell for less than a car, at around $20,000 and shared that Tesla would be ready to take orders for Optimus in three to five years.
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