On Tuesday, chief executive Elon Musk said that Tesla’s humanoid robot is still in the lab, but it may be ready to sell as soon as the end of next year.
Several corporations have been counting on humanoid robots to fill labor shortages and do repetitive work that may be risky or tiresome in areas such as logistics, warehousing, retail, and manufacturing.
Humanoid robots have been in development for several years by Japan’s Honda and Hyundai Motor’s Boston Dynamics. This year, Microsoft and Nvidia-backed startup Figure too revealed that it had signed a partnership with German automaker BMW to deploy humanoid robots in the car maker’s facility in the United States. Billionaire Musk has said it before that robot sales could become a larger part of the Tesla business than other segments, including car manufacturing.
During the conference call, Musk highlighted Tesla’s market advantage, saying, “I think Tesla is best positioned of any humanoid robot maker to be able to reach volume production with efficient inference on the robot itself.” This statement is about the robot’s artificial intelligence (AI) skills, which are critical for doing difficult tasks independently.
Tesla’s journey into robots made a big steps forward in September 2022 with the introduction of its first-generation Optimus, called Bumblebee. A recent video showed the second generation of this robot expertly folding a T-shirt, demonstrating its expanding capabilities, and even practicing yoga.
Optimus folds a shirt pic.twitter.com/3F5o3jVLq1
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 15, 2024
Estimated price?
As speculation swirls around the possible price of Tesla’s Optimus robot, comparisons to the company’s current product range give some insight. With the Model Y starting at $43,990 in the United States, Musk’s proposals point to a price range of $25,000-$30,000 for Optimus. However, recent statements from Musk indicate a possibility of pricing the Tesla Bot even lower, potentially below $20,000, aligning with Tesla’s commitment to accessibility and innovation.
Challenges and Past Promises
Musk’s ambitious claims for Tesla’s robot sales have already aroused concerns in the past, since he has promised numerous technologically sophisticated things, such as the ‘robotaxi’ network, which has fallen short of expectations. However, Tesla remains optimistic about the potential of humanoid robots, which are projected to become an important part of its company.
