Tesla (TSLA) chief executive officer Elon Musk says production of its humanoid robot known as “Optimus” could begin as early as next year.
The electric vehicle maker first teased the robot, also known as the “Tesla Bot,” at a company event last August, saying it will be a general-purpose machine capable of doing a wide range of tasks.
“We have a shot of being in production for version one of Optimus hopefully next year,” Musk said at the opening of Tesla’s new electric vehicle assembly plant in Austin, Texas.
Tesla has yet to reveal a working prototype of the humanoid robot, and it’s unclear how sophisticated Optimus is at this stage of development.
Musk claimed that Optimus will eventually be able do anything that humans don’t want to do, claiming that it will bring about an “age of abundance” for mankind.
When Musk first announced Tesla’s robot, he said it will be based on the same chips and sensors that the company’s cars use for self-driving features. The robot will be five feet eight inches tall, according to Musk, and have a screen at head-height for useful information.
Many people initially thought that the humanoid robot was little more than an artificial intelligence recruitment tool for Tesla, but Musk said in January of this year that the robot is a top priority for new product development this year.
However, Tesla product launches often do not happen on schedule. In April 2019, Musk said the company would have one million autonomous “robotaxis” on the road in 2020. To date, no robotaxis have materialized.
