Having first revealed the new Roadster some six years ago and the Cybertruck in 2019—but having thus far delivered, er, neither—it might not surprise you to hear Tesla has released a progress report about...robots.
Last year, Musk stated in an earnings call that the Tesla Optimus humanoid robot project was—and we’re paraphrasing—its most important product development priority for 2022.
And now there is footage to show us the fruits of Tesla’s focus on bots. One in which robots walk casually past a dude building a Cybertruck. Just one single dude...might go some way to explaining the delay. Check it out.
Tesla Optimus bot update:
Elsewhere, the film depicts bipedal robots walking around in clusters, demonstrating motor control and moving forward like the great-great-grandchildren of C-3PO. Yeah, yeah, reproduction doesn’t work like that for droids, we know.
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Anyway, there’s an impressive show of dexterity with these 10-fingered prototypes that Musk wants to serve as ‘companions’ costing less than £16,000 (P1.11 million). Optimus robots share some of their sensor components and AI software with those found in Tesla cars. They’ve come a long way since the shaky prototype was revealed at Tesla’s AI day in 2022.
Wonder what will arrive first: Tesla mechanoids or the long-awaited Roadster?
NOTE: This article first appeared on TopGear.com. Minor edits have been made.
