Exploring the Future of Robotics with Tesla - Expected Features, Cost Analysis & Release Window

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Tesla CEO Elon Musk has confirmed that a humanoid robot called Optimus is under development, intending to eventually be able to do “anything that humans don’t want to do.” While it may seem unrealistic, a prototype of the robot has already been unveiled, and new videos spring up now and then showing it off.

When Will the Tesla Robot Be Released?

The Tesla Bot was first announced at Tesla’s AI Day 2021 , and the prototype (what Musk calls their “rough, development robot”, pictured below) was revealed at AI Day 2022 . As bizarre as it sounds to have a live-in robot at your disposal to perform “repetitive or boring” tasks for you, it is a real product the company is working on.

One indicator that they’re committing to invest in this is that they’re actively looking for help making it. I found several job listings on Tesla’s website for engineers, managers, architects, and more to work on the Optimus team. So, unlike the Tesla phone and other ideas that have remained concepts, this appears to be a project they’re considering.

Assuming the Tesla robot will be available_one day_ , there’s still no telling when that might be. Are Musk and the team behind the robot interested in bringing it to life? It looks that way. Even so, it’s important to manage our expectations.

Like many companies with ambitious visions, Tesla has a track record of delaying launch dates, often leaving customers anticipating new products. A notable instance of this is the Tesla snake charger , teased in 2015, which Elon Musk has continued to mention over the years , promising its eventual release.

Long term, Musk says the robot “will be more valuable than the car.” It’ll start as a factory product that assists in the production line. According to Tesla in mid-2024, the company deployed some Optimus bots that are “ performing tasks in the factory autonomously .”

Lifewire’s Release Date Estimate

Optimus robots might be ready for purchase in the second half of 2025.

Tesla Robot Price Rumors

At AI Day 2022, Elon Musk said the robot “is expected to cost much less than a car,” and went on to guess “probably less than $20,000.” He repeated this in a tweet in 2024, claiming that Optimus might go for less than half of a car .

This sounds reasonable, at least for a first model. A robot meant to do_anything_ on its own, even if it’s menial tasks, will carry a hefty price tag. With variation (if there will be any), depending on the model you choose, I can see this fluctuating a bit. There might even be leasing options.

Elon Musk suggests the price will fall in the future :

Perhaps in less than a decade, people will be able to buy a robot for their parents as a birthday gift.

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Pre-Order Information

It’s far too soon to talk about pre-ordering the Tesla Bot, but when that time comes, I’ll be sure to provide those details here.

Tesla Robot Features

Elon Musk says the robot will be friendly and can be used to eliminate “dangerous, repetitive, and boring tasks.” Some of the job offers I found say the robot will automate tasks for manufacturing/logistics, but Musk has provided a second use case for home users, where it could be used to pick up groceries.

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I can think of a few more examples. If it’s used in an office, maybe it’ll bring coffee from the break room into a meeting so an assistant can work on other meaningful tasks; or if there are paper reams in storage, the Tesla robot can be the one responsible for distributing them to the correct printers.

When used at home, it might take care of your yard, and even your grandparents, as Musk suggests in his piece,Believing in technology for a better future , in the Cyberspace Administration of China’s publication:

Tesla Bots are initially positioned to replace people in repetitive, boring, and dangerous tasks. But the vision is for them to serve millions of households, such as cooking, mowing lawns, and caring for the elderly.

The Tesla Bot is supposed to free up labor you don’t want to do yourself. Since we already have machines that help us do all kinds of tasks (think: vehicles, dishwashers, forklifts), where it’d really succeed is when AI is used. That way, it can learn and recognize what needs to be done, and then do it for you by completing those last-step actions (driving to the store to get something, loading the dishwasher, etc.).

In this Tesla Bot video (May 2023) , you can see a human training AI that can then be used in the robot. Also check out this video from late 2023 where the Tesla Bot can be seen sorting objects and making corrections when necessary:

Of course, a lot of these things are undoubtedly_years_ away. The version of Optimus seen in this January 2024 video shows it folding a shirt , but it didn’t do it autonomously. Maybe one day it’ll be useful enough to meet you in the garage to help you bring in all the groceries you bought, but it’ll start as an asset for factory owners.

Morgan Stanley estimates that by 2030, to keep up with demand, Tesla will need to employ around 500k employees. The Tesla robot might be the company’s effort to reduce costs and ramp up labor.

The combination of a tough labor market and a higher demand for workers to fulfill further growth places Tesla in a tough situation with an expensive marginal employee down the line. Long-term trends in labor inflation including the role of labor unions may also be taken into account. Optimus could align very neatly with Tesla’s longer term aspirations by alleviating some of these concerns.

Tesla’s robot usage probably won’t stop at just warehouses, factories, and homes. With Musk’s interest in humanity’s future in space, I wouldn’t be surprised if Optimus were pitched as an ET dweller to fulfill his dream of building on Mars . This falls in line with the Starship program, which he says is “designed to extend life to Mars (and the moon). “

Musk says “ Optimus ultimately will be worth more than the car business and worth more than FSD. ”

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Tesla Robot Specs and Hardware

To convince someone to buy a human-sized robot that walks on two feet and that could theoretically pick up an adult, you have to sell the idea of friendliness. Musk says it’s built so you can “run away from it,” and “most likely, overpower it.”

For safety, the Tesla CEO says it’s important for the robot to have a localized chip that can’t be updated remotely. And to be careful to make sure “this doesn’t become a dystopian situation,” he wants it to comply with anyone who tells it to stop doing whatever it’s doing.

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The last time we heard about its stats, the robot’s max speed was said to be 5 MPH, and it stands 5’8” (173 cm) tall, and weighs 125 lb (57 kg), with a 45-pound carrying capacity.

However, like any concept and prototype, those specs might change a lot. It could end up coming in multiple sizes, or maybe you’ll be able to purchase a custom Tesla Bot that can deadlift 300 pounds and walk 10 MPH. None of that has been discussed by Tesla or Musk, but it’s not out of the realm of possibility.

At AI Day 2022, a version of Optimus that’s closest to what will go into production was shown on stage:

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The Tesla Bot has a screen on its face that shows information, presumably a replacement for speaking. But, like a Tesla car, instead of eyes, there are eight “autopilot cameras” it uses to understand its surroundings. Within its chest houses the full self-driving (FSD) computer that powers the robot’s every move, including Wi-Fi and LTE.

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In fact, other tools used in Tesla cars are also used by this robot, including multi-cam video neural networks, neural net planning, and auto-labeling. Musk says the same autopilot/AI team building tech for their cars is also working on Optimus .

Some other specs that have been revealed include audio support, hardware-level security, a 2.3 kWh battery pack, and hands with 11 degrees of freedom (a human hand has 27 degrees of freedom).

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