Is the world ready for Tesla's new domestic robots?

It's been just over three years since Elon Musk predicted his then-forthcoming line of humanoid robots, dubbed "Tesla Bots" at the time, would hit the market in 2022. Suffice it to say, the tech baron's proposed schedule was more ambitiously optimistic than accurate.

Nevertheless, at last week's Cybercab event meant to showcase Tesla's new line of autonomous taxis, Musk surprised attendees by debuting a phalanx of what have since been named "Optimus" robots, which will "walk amongst you,” and serve as a "teacher, babysit your kids, it can walk your dog, mow your lawn, get the groceries, just be your friend." As demonstrated later in the evening, Optimus can even "serve drinks."

Musk's characteristically hyperbolic prediction that this will be the "biggest product ever of any kind" notwithstanding, the Optimus debut was not without its wrinkles. "This is not wholly AI," longtime tech evangelist and blogger Robert Scoble said after bellying up to Optimus' bar. "A human is remote assisting" ("I learned that when it was walking that it was AI then," Scoble clarified later). And if Musk's previously rushed timeline for his bots to hit the market is any indication, his latest prediction that Optimus will start selling in 2026 should be taken with a grain of salt.

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Still, conditioned by decades of promises of an automated lifestyle attended by automated robotic aides, Musk's Optimus bots have understandably piqued the interest of futurists and cutting-edge consumers alike. Not everyone, however, is fully convinced that Optimus is the humanoid helper for which we've been waiting.

'Leaps and bounds from more hypothetical talks'

The latest Optimus update will "likely spark further debate about the rise of AI and how it’ll affect workers in a variety of industries," The Wrap said. "Beyond household chores and playing with your kids, the Optimus Robot will be able to do certain jobs, like move boxes in warehouses." Accordingly, last week's presentation highlights Tesla's "push towards integrating robots into daily life," said Business Today.

The robot was "not a serious product when Musk first revealed the project in 2021, when a man in a robot suit took the stage to perform a silly dance," said The Verge. But last week's demonstration showed that the current models are "leaps and bounds from more hypothetical talks of the project just a few years ago," the New York Post said. The Optimuses "looked smoother" than their 2022 predecessors as they "danced, poured drinks, and played rock-paper-scissors with attendees at Tesla's event," said Business Insider. If you "extrapolate this you're really going to have something spectacular," Musk told attendees at the rollout, comparing Optimus to iconic "Star Wars" droids R2D2 and C3PO. Once production ramps up to scale, the robots are expected to cost between $20-30,000, and will be "something anyone could own," Musk said.

'Way behind the competition'

Lingering questions over how much of the Optimus demonstrations were truly autonomous and how much was the result of teleoperation have cast a pall on the robotic rollout for some observers. Although teleoperation is itself "impressive," Lux Capital co-founder Josh Wolfe said, "it is NOT" autonomous AI, and "people should not be lied to or misled by Elon."

The overall purpose and functionality of Optimus also worry some industry experts. "These robots have a wow factor, but they may not have the best form factor for addressing industry's dull, dirty, and dangerous tasks," said Paul Miller, vice president and principal analyst at research firm Forrester to Business Insider. "We should all focus more on the task we're trying to complete and less on how cool the robots look."

Meanwhile, Optimus' potential functionality is "likely still a while away, judging by the tentative approach Optimus appeared to take when merely walking," Mashable said. Moreover, "based on everything we know about Tesla's robotics achievements, Musk is actually way behind the competition," said Gizmodo. Moreover, Musk's price point prediction will be "hard to achieve if your robot requires a lot of human intervention behind the scenes."

While Musk enthusiasts may have celebrated Elon's latest gambit as another step toward an automated utopia, the immediate reaction from investors has been decidedly less optimistic. Tesla shares dropped sharply the day after Musk unveiled his new automated taxis and Optimus androids as markets "appeared to be initially unimpressed with the electric vehicle maker's 'We, Robot' event," said Investopedia.