Yesterday, Friday, Tesla CEO Elon Musk presented a prototype of the humanoid robot Optimus, predicting that his company that manufactures electric cars will be able to produce millions of this robot and sell it for less than 20 thousand dollars, i.e. Less than a third of the price of a Tesla Model Y.
Musk said he expected Tesla to be ready to take orders for the robot within 3 to 5 years, explained how it would take a decade or more to try to develop the product, and said that revenue for this product may be greater than Tesla’s revenue for electric vehicles.
Tesla aims to design and build robots for the market that will be used as workers in its factories, which distinguishes it from other manufacturers that have experimented with human-like robots.
The much-anticipated reveal – to see robots working at the company’s offices in Palo Alto, California – was part of what Musk described as an effort to make Tesla a leader in areas such as artificial intelligence, rather than just a company that makes “cool cars”.
During the presentation, an experimental robot – which Tesla said was developed last February – came out to wave to the audience on Friday, and Tesla showed a video of the robot as it performs simple tasks, such as watering plants, carrying boxes and lifting metal bars at the company’s factory in California.
Musk hopes more human-like models will go into production, which is why Optimus walked out during the show and gave a slow salute to the crowd. Musk said Optimus will be able to walk in a few weeks.
