Tesla Boss Unveils Humanoid Robot

"Elon Musk showed off a new humanoid robot Friday at a Tesla Inc. artificial intelligence event, part of the chief executive's effort to shape public perception of the company as more than an electric-vehicle maker.

Mr. Musk first laid out the vision for the robot, called Optimus, a little more than a year ago at Tesla's first-ever AI Day. At the time, a dancer in a costume appeared onstage. This time, Mr. Musk presented a prototype at the gathering that unfolded late Friday in Palo Alto, Calif.

The robot took a few steps, waved to the crowd, and performed some basic dance moves.

Mr. Musk quipped the robot could do a lot more, but limited its activity for fear it could fall on its face. The robot's appearance on stage marked the first time it operated without a tether, Mr. Musk said.

"Our goal is to make a useful humanoid robot as quickly as possible," he said, with the aspiration of being able to make them at high volume and low cost. "It is expected to cost much less than a car," he said, with a price point below $20,000.

He later showed off a nonfunctioning model that he said was closer to the production model.

The Tesla boss has painted a vision of Optimus as helping Tesla make cars more efficiently. He has also suggested the robot could serve broader functions and potentially alleviate labor shortages.

"My guess is Optimus will be more valuable than the car long term," Mr. Musk said Aug. 4 at Tesla's annual shareholder meeting. "It will, I think, turn the whole notion of what's an economy on its head, at the point at which you have no shortage of labor," he added.

When he first unveiled the Optimus concept, Mr. Musk said such a robot could have such an impact on the labor market it could make it necessary to provide a universal basic income, or a stipend to people without strings attached." [1]

When Musk's robots drive you out of the job market, elect Kubilius as prime minister. Kubilius will give each of you a hole in the Bublik and ask you to give him the Nobel Prize for the world's best solution to the problem. You elect idiots to power for every crisis in Lithuania.

 1. EXCHANGE --- Business News: Tesla Boss Unveils Humanoid Robot
Bobrowsky, Meghan; Elliott, Rebecca. 
Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]. 01 Oct 2022: B.3.