Elon Musk Reveals Tesla's Optimus Robot, Says It 'Can Actually Do a Lot More' as It Walks and Waves on Stage
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Tesla has debuted a new humanoid robot with the help of CEO Elon Musk, who said he believes the technology could change millions of lives worldwide.
Musk, 51, took the stage at AI Day 2022 Friday to help unveil a prototype of the robot, also known as Optimus, which uses Tesla's self-driving technology to function, according to CNN and CNBC.
Optimus slowly walked untethered on stage before waving to the crowd and showing off its dancing skills in video from the event shared by Telsa and Good Morning America.
"The robot can actually do a lot more than we just showed you," Musk added, per CNN's report. "We just didn't want it to fall on its face."
Musk claimed the robot will have the potential to help "millions" and provide "a future of abundance" where poverty does not exist and where people can have whatever they please "in terms of products and services," according to CNBC, though he did not appear to elaborate.
"It really is a fundamental transformation of civilization as we know it," Musk said.
— Tesla (@Tesla) October 1, 2022
Tesla teased the project at AI Day 2021 with a person dressed as a robot, who pranced around on the stage.
"Last year was just a person in a robot suit," Musk said prior to Friday's big reveal, according to CNN. "We've come a long way. Compared to that, it's going to be very impressive."
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At the event, Musk said the robot will likely be able to do chores such as getting groceries, but could one day work jobs inside Tesla factories currently worked by humans, CNBC reports.
Customers may be able to purchase an Optimus robot within three to five years, Musk added.
When it does hit the market, Musk believes the robot will "probably" cost around $20,000, according to CNN.
David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images
The robot reveal comes as Twitter sues Musk in an attempt to compel him to buy the company for $44 million, as promised. The billionaire reneged on the deal shortly before the lawsuit was filed in July.
In their counterclaims, Musk's team suggested that Twitter had a "scheme to mislead investors about the company's prospects" and claimed the company "was miscounting the number of false and spam accounts on its platform" as part of the plan.
Twitter Chairman Bret Taylor called Musk's claims about the company "factually inaccurate, legally insufficient, and commercially irrelevant" in a tweet posted after the filing was submitted.
RELATED: Elon Musk Challenges Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal to 'Public Debate' Over Fake Bots amid Legal Dispute
In early August, Musk sold 7.92 million shares in his electric car company worth about $6.9 billion, CNBC previously reported.
The news came less than four months after Musk said he had "no further" plans to sell stock in the company on April 28 after selling $8.2 billion worth of shares.
Nearly all of Twitter's shareholders (98.6%) voted to approve the sale of Twitter to Musk in mid-September, according to NPR. The buyout was approved at the price of $54.20 per share.
