Elon Musk unveiled two prototypes of the Optimus humanoid robot that his company Tesla hopes to one day produce in “millions” of units to “transform civilization” and build a “future of abundance” in which poverty will has disappeared, the world’s intelligence agencies reported.
An early version of the robot appeared cautiously on stage in California, where Tesla’s annual conference was held, where the company’s progress in the field of artificial intelligence was presented, notes AFP.
The robot raised its hand in greeting, and video footage showed it carrying a package to an employee and watering plants.
Officials also demonstrated a more advanced Optimus prototype that has fewer exposed cables but is still not capable of walking on its own.
Elon Musk acknowledged that other organizations have designed more sophisticated robots, but “they don’t have the intelligence to move on their own … And they’re very expensive,” he added.
Tesla’s CEO has set his sights on creating a robot that in the long run will cost “probably less than $20,000” and be able to be recreated in “millions of units.”
Officials at the company said they have been working on Optimus for six to eight months. According to Musk, people will probably be able to get their hands on it “within three to five years,” the Associated Press reported.
The company’s conference aims to recruit more engineers to carry out this task and thus achieve a “fundamental transformation of civilization”.
The multi-billionaire presented in 2021 a project for a robot that can perform repetitive tasks instead of people, AFP recalls.
“It means a future of abundance, a future where there is no poverty, where people will have what they want in terms of products and services,” Musk explained.
According to him, it is “essential” that the company that creates this robot be listed on the stock exchange, “because if the public doesn’t like what Tesla is doing, they can buy shares and vote differently.”
Elon Musk says it’s “very important that I can’t just do what I want.” So he laughs at the conflict between him and Twitter that led to a lawsuit in mid-October.
He signed a contract to acquire the social network in the spring, but in July he reconsidered his decision. Twitter sued to make it follow through on its commitment.
