The walking, talking Optimus robot stole the show during Elon Musk’s spectacular “Cybercab” event in Hollywood last week, according to a report, which was operated by a human via remote control.
The faceless, approximately six-foot-tall figures served fruity cocktails, danced to techno music and interacted with guests.
Although the Optimus robots were able to walk using artificial intelligence, many of their activities were controlled remotely by Tesla employees, Sources told Bloomberg,
After the event on Thursday, guests took to social media to speculate on the bots’ purported autonomous capabilities.
Although Musk did not discuss the limitations of the technology behind the bots during the event, the Optimus bots were the subject of questions from guests.
In A video posted onA bartending bot at the event told a guest: “Today, I have been assisted by a human. “I’m still not completely autonomous.”
Tesla did not respond to requests for comment.
Musk claimed Thursday that Optimus will be “the greatest product of any kind ever” — capable of mowing the lawn, walking the dog, babysitting or just being a friend.
The billionaire said the bot would cost less than a car – between $20,000 and $30,000.
Earlier this year he said that Tesla may be able to sell humanoid robots by the end of next year.
The CyberCab program was the first opportunity for non-Tesla employees to interact with Optimus – and it was a draw for many investors and Tesla fanatics who were otherwise underwhelmed by the program.
But the revelation of the remote control has raised hopes that Optimus will be ready for release so soon.
Experts previously told The Post that it could take up to a decade to fully release the robots.
“The robot still faces challenges in areas such as moving consistently across uneven terrain, running all day on a single battery charge, and safely navigating around people and pets,” Dev Nag, CEO of QueryPal, told The Post. falls – this is a much more difficult problem than it seems.”
“Although Musk is known for his ambitious timelines, most experts believe Optimus will prove itself in factories and warehouses before it is ready for home use,” he said.
This is not the first time that Musk has raised hopes of tech enthusiasts. During a Tesla event in 2021, they introduced their “Tesla Bot” — and then a man in a robot suit came on stage and danced. The following year, he introduced a prototype that needed to be held up by a stand.
The Optimus robots were not originally part of last week’s event.
A person familiar with the matter told Bloomberg that Musk gave employees three weeks’ notice that he wanted to include robots in the CyberCab program. The person said time constraints left little scope for staff to improve the software – meaning remote operations were necessary.
A new CyberCab taxi and a 20-person “Robovan” were also demonstrated at the event. Guests – including investors, Wall Street analysts and Tesla fans – went for a ride in a driverless CyberCab.
The much-anticipated autonomous taxis ultimately disappointed fans and Wall Street. Technical experts complained that the program lacked sufficient technical detail.
The day after the incident, the company’s shares suffered their biggest decline in more than two months.
A person familiar with the planning told Bloomberg that Tesla’s billionaire CEO was scheduled to discuss more autonomous-driving related items on stage.
The source said his presentation should have included more details about the artificial intelligence behind Tesla’s trucks, the future ride-hailing service and software pricing.
The person told Bloomberg that he either omitted the content or removed it from the event schedule.
The revelation that Optimus was partially remote-controlled may further disappoint some analysts, as most had called the bots a pleasant surprise and described them as the highlight of the event.
“What Tesla unveiled last night was a surprise,” Wedbush analyst Dan Ives told The Post the day after the event. “Last night, I believe, was a historic event.”
