Elon Musk has been rather busy these days, caught up in the lawsuit labyrinth. However, that hasn’t stopped the billionaire from surprising people with his latest feats of innovation. Recently, Elon Musk presented the latest prototype of a humanoid robot that is being developed by his electric car company, Tesla. The humanoid goes by the name ‘Optimus’ and amazed the audience by appearing on stage at a Silicon Valley event. Musk’s humanoid robot in progress did not forget to wave at the audience and raise its knees. Read along to know more.
To An Optimal Future?
It looks like Musk is taking innovation and thinking out of the box rather seriously. The Tesla boss stated that although the humanoid is in its developmental stage, it will soon be made available for sale to the public in a couple of years. Seems like the utopian foresight offered by the Bicentennial Man is finally on our doorstep because Tesla’s mass-market robots will be tested through working jobs in car factories. Although, the rosy picture presented by this innovative feat is rather appealing, lurking behind the picture is the threat of human labor going obsolete. Because more often than not, these innovative steps tend to completely ignore the strata of the society that will have a deleterious effect if human labor is replaced by humanoids.
It was during an annual Tesla AI Day presentation that the prototype was wheeled on stage. People were given an overview of what Optimus will be capable of doing through a video that showed Optimus performing simple jobs like watering plants, and carrying metal bars. Musk said that the company plans to produce these robots en masse and will be made available at a cost lower than $20,000. The Tesla boss is indeed quite optimistic about Optimus and the “future of abundance” it will bring.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 1, 2022
Musk also added that “It really is a fundamental transformation of civilization as we know it.” Let’s not forget that this is the very same person who, not so long ago, expressed his concerns about artificial intelligence being a threat to humanity. Looks like the threat has vanished now that Tesla stands at the receiving end of massive potential profits.
Some investors and financial analysts are quite skeptical about Tesla switching to robotics, and they are of the opinion that it will be better for the company if it sticks to its core business.
