Tesla's Optimus robots to be sold soon? Elon Musk shares major update

Tesla's humanoid robot is still in the lab, CEO Elon Musk said informing that the company may be ready to sell it as soon as the end of next year. This comes as several companies are betting on humanoid robots to meet potential labor shortages and perform repetitive tasks in industries like logistics, warehousing, retail and manufacturing.

A screenshot of the video showing Optimus robot strolling in the lab.(X/Elon Musk)

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In a conference call with investors, Elon Musk said that he guessed the Tesla robot- Optimus- would be able to perform tasks in the factory by the end of this year.

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Which companies are pushing for humanoid robots?

Humanoid robots have been in development for many years by Japan's Honda and Hyundai Motor's Boston Dynamics. Earlier this year, Microsoft and Nvidia-backed startup Figure said it had signed a partnership with German automaker BMW to deploy humanoid robots in the car maker's facility in the US.

What Elon Musk said on robot sales by Tesla?

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Elon Musk said before that robot sales could become a larger part of the Tesla business. He said, “I think Tesla is best positioned of any humanoid robot maker to be able to reach volume production with efficient inference on the robot itself.”

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What we know about Optimus robot?

Tesla released its first generation of its Optimus robot, dubbed Bumblebee, in September 2022. The company also posted a video of a second generation of the bipedal robot folding a T-shirt at the firm's facility and another video of its 01 robot making coffee. Boston Dynamics last week unveiled an electric platform for its Atlas humanoid robot.

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