When will Tesla launch the Optimus Prime robot we’ve been hearing about all this time? CEO Musk said this will take a little longer than initially expected.
“Next year, Tesla will be producing truly useful humanoid robots in low-volume quantities for internal use at Tesla, and hopefully in high-volume quantities for other companies in 2026,” Musk said on Twitter on Monday morning.
As Electrek points out, this is a delay from Musk’s previous promises. Tesla CEO said in April that he would have Optimus robots working in Tesla factories by the end of 2024 and delivering them to other companies by 2025. happened.
Musk first announced the Tesla robot at a very strange event where a guy in a tights just did a little bit on stage. It’s 2021, and even Musk’s defenders have to admit it looks weird. Tesla has come a long way over the past three years, going from nothing to a functional robot that can walk and pick up things. But the company also struggles to show off major achievements without some big tricks up its sleeve.
For example, Musk posted a video to social media in January showing Optimus Prime folding some clothes. But it wasn’t long before people discovered something strange was happening in the lower corner of the film. It’s obvious that the robot isn’t actually working autonomously, but rather that a person just out of the frame is moving its arms in sync with the folding laundry. You can even see it in the GIF below, with our own red arrow added.
After Musk and his robots were ridiculed online for their deceptive behavior, other robotics companies began adding text to their videos to show that they were actually working autonomously. The words “No remote operations” were added to make it clear that no one is off-screen trying to trick you.
Just last month, Musk was hyping Optimus as if it had just emerged, insisting at a Tesla shareholder meeting in Austin, Texas, that Optimus would one day take care of your kids. But Tesla still has a long way to go, especially if you look at what other robotics companies have accomplished over the past decade. Frankly, Tesla is trying to catch up to the industry leaders, but they still have a long way to go. For example, Boston Dynamics unveiled a robot that could stand on its own in 2016, and later that year achieved standing on one leg, a backflip in 2017, and a parkour-style jump in 2018.
But Musk himself may be a little distracted at the moment, focusing on robots. Like the rest of the country, the billionaire is closely watching the presidential race, with President Joe Biden announcing on Sunday that he will not seek re-election, setting the stage for Vice President Kamala Harris to take on Donald Trump Leveled the road. Unlike the rest of America, Musk has millions of dollars and a massive social media site to help his people win. With Musk and others now making it clear that the Republican Party must contend with panic over a younger opponent, the robot’s timeline appears to be far from the top priority.
Tesla did not immediately respond to emailed questions on Monday. Gizmodo will update this article if we hear back.
