Elon Musk has unveiled a prototype of Tesla’s Optimus humanoid robot, which the electric car maker aims to mass-produce in the millions and sell for less than £18,000.
The billionaire tycoon said he expected the company to be ready to take orders in three to five years.
Musk says the company could surpass that of from Tesla electric vehicle company.
The company’s willingness to design and build consumer robots that would also be tested by performing work in its factories sets it apart from other manufacturers who have experimented with humanoid machines.
The debut of robot prototypes at Tesla’s office in Palo Alto, Calif., is part of Mr. Musk’s bid to position Tesla as a leader in areas such as artificial intelligence and not just a company that makes robots. “cool cars”.
An experimental test robot, with wires and exposed electronics, which Tesla said was developed in February, slowly walked out onto a stage, turned around and waved to a cheering crowd at an event on Friday .
The company also showed video showing him performing simple tasks, such as watering plants, carrying boxes and lifting metal bars at a production station at the company’s California factory.
But a more streamlined current model, which Mr. Musk said was closer to what he hoped to put into production, had to be rolled out and made a slow wave to the public.
Mr Musk, who co-founded electronic payment company PayPal and formed rocket maker SpaceX, called the robot Optimus and said it would be able to walk “within weeks”.
He added: “There is still a lot of work to be done to refine Optimus and prove it.”
But he continued: “I think Optimus is going to be amazing in five or 10 years, like mind blowing.”
An experimental test robot slowly emerged onto the scene. Photo: Tesla
Musk said existing humanoid robots “lack a brain” and the ability to solve problems on their own.
By contrast, he said, Optimus would be an “extremely capable robot”.
While other automakers, including Toyota and Honda, have developed prototype humanoid robots capable of performing complicated tasks, Tesla is the only one pursuing the opportunity for a consumer robot that could also be used in the factory work.
The next-generation Tesla bot will use Tesla-designed components, including a 2.3 kWh battery carried in its torso, and is designed to weigh 73 kg.
Tesla engineers, who like Musk all wore black T-shirts with an image of heart-shaped metallic robotic hands, described how they developed the robot’s functionality, including areas such as how the fingers are moving, focusing on reducing the production cost lower.
“We’re trying to follow the goal of the fastest path to a useful robot that can be manufactured in volume,” Musk said.
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The previous prototype turned around and waved to a cheering crowd. Photo: Tesla
Musk, who has previously spoken about the risks of artificial intelligence, said the massive deployment of robots has the potential to “transform civilization” and create “a future of abundance, a future without poverty.”
Many reactions on social media have been positive, focusing on the speed of Tesla’s development efforts since August last year, when Tesla announced its project with a stunt in which a person in a white suit simulated a humanoid robot. .
Henri Ben Amor, professor of robotics at Arizona State University, said the $20,000 (£17,937) price target was a “good guess” since current costs are around $100,000 (£89). £686) for humanoid robots.
But he said: “There is a certain gap between the kind of ambition and what they presented.
“As far as dexterity, speed, ability to walk steadily, etc., there is still a lot of work to be done.”
