Tesla CEO Elon Musk updated the timeline for the launch of Tesla's humanoid robot Optimus at the company's earnings telegram meeting on Tuesday. Musk threatened to officially sell Optimus to the public by the end of 2025 at the earliest.
Currently, multiple technology companies worldwide are betting on the humanoid robot race to address potential labor shortages and attempt to replace humans in industries such as logistics, warehousing, retail, and manufacturing, performing potentially dangerous or tedious repetitive tasks.
Musk told investors during the latest earnings conference call that Optimus is currently able to perform factory tasks in the laboratory and believes that by the end of this year, it will be able to perform tasks in a real Tesla factory.
Musk also mentioned the company's artificial intelligence capabilities during Tuesday's conference call. He said, "I believe Tesla is the most capable company among all humanoid robot manufacturers to achieve mass production."
In September 2022, Tesla first introduced its initial Optimus (Optimus Prime) humanoid robot concept to the public, which was then named Bumblebee. At the end of last year, Tesla released a work video of its new generation humanoid robot Optimus Gen 2 without any prior notice.
Compared to previous versions, the new prototype robot has many improvements. According to the video at the time, the second-generation Optimus was equipped with actuators and sensors designed by Tesla, a 2-degree-of-freedom neck drive, a faster responsive 11 degree of freedom dexterous hand, tactile sensors (ten fingers), integrated electronics and wiring harnesses for actuators, foot force/torque sensors, articulated toes, and more.
Not only that, the second-generation Optimus has significantly improved multiple performance features: increased walking speed by 30%, reduced weight by 10kg, and improved balance and full body control.
(demonstration video of Optimus Gen 2 at the end of last year)
It is worth mentioning that Musk previously stated that the proportion of robot sales in Tesla's business may exceed other areas such as automotive manufacturing, and optimistically predicted that Optimus would account for "the majority of Tesla's long-term value.". He also predicts that the demand for the robot may eventually reach 10 billion to 20 billion units, and believes that the final selling price of Optimus may be "less than half of a car," about $25000.
Netizen: Can it really be released so quickly?
Undoubtedly, although Tesla's stock price surged by 10% overnight, it is more likely that people are pleased with Musk's statement of "accelerating the launch of more affordable new models", the humanoid robot Optimus, which may be released before the end of next year, undoubtedly surprises many investors who are interested in this track
Of course, some industry insiders and netizens are still hesitant to fully believe Musk's latest timetable.
Musk had a bad history of failing to fulfill his bold promises to Wall Street. In 2019, he told investors that Tesla would operate the "robotaxi" unmanned taxi network before 2020, but so far this idea has not been truly realized.
And new products like Cybertruck have also been dragging on time. At present, Tesla's electric pickup truck Cyberchuck is only available for sale in the United States.
Some netizens sarcastically stated on social media platform X, "If Optimus' schedule is the same as that of an electric pickup truck, then the final launch time will wait until 2032."
However, it is worth mentioning that from the current investment wave and rapid development speed of the global humanoid robot race, Tesla and Musk may indeed be in a certain degree "not waiting".
Recently, Boston Dynamics announced that its long developed all electric Atlas humanoid robot is about to enter the commercial market. A video released last Wednesday showed that the new Atlas robot has a lighter mechanical skeleton and smoother movements, such as being able to stand on its own from the ground and rotate its head 180 degrees, making its flexibility almost unparalleled. Even Musk joined in the fun by posting photos of the midnight bell as a joke.
In addition, earlier this year, startups supported by Microsoft and Nvidia, as shown in Figure, announced that they have signed a cooperation agreement with German automaker BMW to deploy humanoid robots at the manufacturer's factory in the United States.
If the development of the entire global humanoid robot race is further accelerated, then Tesla may indeed need to seize the opportunity through the release of Optimus by the end of next year
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