At Tesla’s “We, Robot” event on Thursday night, the much-anticipated robotaxi may have been the main attraction, but it was Elon Musk’s Optimus humanoid robot that truly captivated the audience, Fortune reports.
Held at the Warner Bros. studio lot in Hollywood, the event showcased a number of Optimus robots walking untethered among the crowd, interacting with attendees by playing games, pouring drinks, and even flashing peace signs.
Elon Musk boldly declared Optimus to be Tesla’s most important product, predicting it will revolutionize the tech industry.
“This will be the biggest product ever—of any kind,” Musk said.
However, the impressive display left some questioning the reality behind the technology.
While guests marveled at the robots’ movements and interactions, it was later revealed that the AI aspect of Optimus wasn’t quite as advanced as it seemed. The robots were not operating autonomously; they were controlled by humans remotely, with operators wearing special suits that translated their movements to the machines. Despite this, Musk did not mention the human assistance during the presentation, leaving many to believe the robots were fully powered by artificial intelligence.
This revelation sparked criticism, with some comparing the event to a “parlor trick.” Josh Wolfe, co-founder of Lux Capital, acknowledged the technical achievement but questioned Tesla’s transparency.
“Totally worthy to celebrate low latency remote control, but totally dishonest to demo these as autonomous robots,” Wolfe said.
Others expressed disappointment that Tesla did not openly disclose that humans were behind the robots’ actions.
Still, Tesla supporters like Omar Qazi argued that even without AI, the mechanics of Optimus are groundbreaking.
“If you’re not impressed with tele-operated Optimus, go try and make your own robot and try to make it walk through a crowded event without hurting anyone,” Qazi said.
Musk has high hopes for Optimus, envisioning it as a key component of Tesla’s future. He predicts the robots will eventually sell for as little as $20,000 and be produced at a scale of 100 million units annually, generating over $1 trillion in revenue each year. Despite the current reliance on human operators, Musk remains optimistic that Optimus will become a fully autonomous robot capable of transforming industries.
