“The future should be seen as the future,” CEO Elon Musk said at the Tesla 'We Robots' special event held in Burbank, California earlier this week. Indeed, Tesla's long-awaited autonomous robotaxi, the Cybercab, and its full-size truck counterpart, the Cybervan, seemed straight out of famous sci-fi movies.
But as the name of the event suggests, a vision of the future wouldn't be complete without robots: Optimus Gen 2, Tesla's latest version of humanoid robots, were found serving drinks, chatting with guests and even dancing together at the event.
Tesla has recently tipped Optimus as a possible replacement for factory workers in China and elsewhere. Musk previously said he expects Optimus to begin operating in Tesla factories in 2025 and be available to other companies in 2026.
However, at the event, the Tesla boss revealed his expanded vision of a home robotic that can do “everything you want: take care of your child, walk your dog, mow the lawn, do the shopping, be your friend, serve drinks.”
He also gave a closer estimate of the robotic's price: once produced “at scale,” Optimus should cost between $20,000 and $30,000. Musk had previously said that the price of the robotic would be about half that of a car.
Staying true to his science fiction vision, the Tesla CEO referred to Optimus as a cross between R2D2 and C-3PO, the famous droid from the Star Wars film series.
But since the first generation of the Optimus was presented in 2022, Tesla has emphasized the continuity between its cars and robots. “Everything we've developed for our cars — the battery electronics, the advanced engine gearboxes, the software, the AI inference computer — actually applies to a humanoid robot,” Musk said at the event. . “A robotic with arms and legs, instead of a robotic with wheels.”
Tesla would not be the first to offer a home robotic to the market. Boston Dynamics, owned by Hyundai, has already marketed a home service-type robotic called Lugar with a high price of $74,500. BMW and Open AI are betting on robots manufactured by Cifra, a company based in California. Meanwhile, Nvidia is developing Project GR00T to also deliver humanoid robots.
Earlier this year, Goldman Sachs forecast that the annual global market for humanoid robots could reach $38 billion by 2035, with robot shipments of 1.4 million units for both industrial and consumer applications. He also said robots could become more affordable as their manufacturing cost has dropped more than expected, which would lead to faster time to market.
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