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Tesla is making progress with the Optimus program, enough that Musk believes the first units might be delivered as early as next year. Musk said the development team focuses on safety, although the analogy he made with the sci-fi movie Westworld is a little bit creepy.
Tesla announced its ambitions to develop a humanoid robot during AI Day in 2021. Many made fun of it after a human dressed as a robot danced on stage. Since then, things evolved "gradually, then suddenly," as Hemingway said in one of his books. In September 2022, Tesla showed a rudimentary prototype that could barely move. However, last March, it became clear that Tesla's Optimus program was taking off. In December 2023, Tesla launched the second generation of the robot, which is much sleeker and more capable.
Tesla's ultimate goal with Optimus bot is to replace humans for the most boring and dangerous jobs. I have no issue imagining Optimus bots assembling Tesla EVs in a not-so-distant future. Currently, the company is hiring robotics and mechatronics engineers to speed up Optimus development. Initially, Tesla wanted to bring the robot to market in 2027. Still, Elon Musk is confident enough to announce the first deliveries as soon as next year.
"I think we've got a good chance of shipping some number of Optimus units next year," Musk said during the Q4 2024 earnings call. "But, like I said, this is a brand new product. When there's a lot of uncertainty in your uncharted territory, it's obviously impossible to make a precise prediction."
It's relatively easy to build a robot as far as the hardware is concerned. Musk sees EVs as robots on four wheels, and Tesla already makes many of them. Optimus is just a robot with arms and legs, but it's also the most sophisticated humanoid robot ever made. However, it's more challenging to make the robot behave like a human being, be independent, and at the same time safe.
If you're wondering what's keeping the Optimus program from completing development, it's the same as autonomous driving: immature software. Musk made no secret that Optimus robots are closely connected to Full Self-Driving, as both technologies use neural networks to interact with the world. Until FSD develops into the autonomous driving software Tesla wants, there's not much hope that Optimus could become production-ready soon.
There are a lot of discussions about the perils of artificial intelligence, and a humanoid robot makes safety even more important. This is why much of the development efforts go into ensuring that Optimus is safe, especially when built at scale, and that no centralized control could upload malware to it. Musk hinted at a "localized shut-off" that cannot be updated from a central server if something goes sideways.
However reassuring the Optimus safety features might sound, Musk's subsequent remarks were much creepier. Based on his words, the Optimus lab already looks like "the set of Westworld." You know, the sci-fi movie that pictures a dystopian future when robots rebel against humanity. Hopefully, we won't reach Westworld level anytime soon.
Tesla's ultimate goal with Optimus bot is to replace humans for the most boring and dangerous jobs. I have no issue imagining Optimus bots assembling Tesla EVs in a not-so-distant future. Currently, the company is hiring robotics and mechatronics engineers to speed up Optimus development. Initially, Tesla wanted to bring the robot to market in 2027. Still, Elon Musk is confident enough to announce the first deliveries as soon as next year.
"I think we've got a good chance of shipping some number of Optimus units next year," Musk said during the Q4 2024 earnings call. "But, like I said, this is a brand new product. When there's a lot of uncertainty in your uncharted territory, it's obviously impossible to make a precise prediction."
It's relatively easy to build a robot as far as the hardware is concerned. Musk sees EVs as robots on four wheels, and Tesla already makes many of them. Optimus is just a robot with arms and legs, but it's also the most sophisticated humanoid robot ever made. However, it's more challenging to make the robot behave like a human being, be independent, and at the same time safe.
If you're wondering what's keeping the Optimus program from completing development, it's the same as autonomous driving: immature software. Musk made no secret that Optimus robots are closely connected to Full Self-Driving, as both technologies use neural networks to interact with the world. Until FSD develops into the autonomous driving software Tesla wants, there's not much hope that Optimus could become production-ready soon.
There are a lot of discussions about the perils of artificial intelligence, and a humanoid robot makes safety even more important. This is why much of the development efforts go into ensuring that Optimus is safe, especially when built at scale, and that no centralized control could upload malware to it. Musk hinted at a "localized shut-off" that cannot be updated from a central server if something goes sideways.
However reassuring the Optimus safety features might sound, Musk's subsequent remarks were much creepier. Based on his words, the Optimus lab already looks like "the set of Westworld." You know, the sci-fi movie that pictures a dystopian future when robots rebel against humanity. Hopefully, we won't reach Westworld level anytime soon.
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