The Optimus humanoid robot remains in Tesla’s labs for now, but will be ready to hit the market by the end of 2025, predicted company founder Elon Musk, who believes robotics will become more profitable than manufacturing in the future. electric cars.
Tesla is one of several tech companies developing humanoid robots for dangerous or menial tasks as many industries around the world face staff shortages.
During an investor briefing, Reuters reports, Musk estimated that as early as the end of this year, Optimus will be able to perform tasks in a factory environment.
Japan’s Honda and Honda-owned Boston Dynamics have been developing humanoid robots for years, but they appear to be several years away from a practically useful product.
More recently, advances in artificial intelligence have accelerated developments. US-based Figure AI, which works with OpenAI and is funded by Nvidia, has secured a deal with BMW to use humanoid robots in a car factory.
Elon Musk believes that the humanoid revolution is coming soon. He had even previously estimated that robots will be more profitable for Tesla than electric cars.
Compared to the competition, Tesla is closer to a robot with built-in deductive reasoning functions that can be produced in sufficient quantities, the billionaire said in Tuesday’s update.
The truth, of course, is that Musk has a long history of over-optimistic predictions: in 2019, he told investors that Tesla would build an entire fleet of robotic taxis by 2020.
The first Optimus prototype was presented in September 2022. This year, Tesla showed videos of a second-generation robot folding T-shirts in the company’s laboratories.
In February, Figure AI posted videos of its own robot manipulating various household objects while conversing with a human, while Boston Dynamics showed off a powered version of its Asla robot with a 360-degree rotating head and joints.
