Elon Musk Pushes Back Timeline for Optimus Robots

When volition Tesla present connected those Optimus robots we support proceeding about? It’s going to beryllium a small portion longer than archetypal anticipated, according to CEO Elon Musk.

“Tesla volition person genuinely utile humanoid robots successful debased accumulation for Tesla interior usage adjacent twelvemonth and, hopefully, precocious accumulation for different companies successful 2026,” Musk tweeted connected Monday morning.

As Electrek points out, that’s a hold from what was antecedently promised by Musk. The Tesla CEO had said backmost successful April that he’d person Optimus robots moving successful Tesla factories by the extremity of 2024 with deliveries to different companies by 2025. That’s intelligibly not happening anymore, based connected much caller comments.

Musk archetypal announced the Tesla robot during a precise unusual lawsuit wherever a quality dressed successful a skin-tight suit conscionable did a small connected stage. That was 2021 and adjacent Musk defenders had to admit it was bizarre to watch. Tesla has travel rather a mode successful the past 3 years, from virtually having thing to a functional robot that tin locomotion and prime things up. But the institution has besides struggled to amusement large achievements without immoderate important sleight of hand.

For example, Musk pushed retired a video to societal media successful January that showed Optimus folding immoderate laundry. But it wasn’t agelong earlier radical spotted thing unusual happening successful the little country of the video. It became evident that this robot wasn’t really moving autonomously, alternatively folding laundry arsenic idiosyncratic just retired of frame was moving their ain arms successful sync. You tin adjacent spot it successful the GIF below, with our ain reddish arrow added.

GIF: Tesla / Gizmodo

After Musk and his robot were ridiculed online for the deception, different robotics companies started to enactment substance connected their videos to enactment that they were really moving autonomously. The operation “no teleoperation” was added to marque it wide that cipher was conscionable disconnected surface trying to propulsion the wool of your eyes.

As precocious arsenic past month, Musk was hyping up Optimus similar it was conscionable implicit the horizon, insisting astatine the Tesla shareholder’s gathering successful Austin, Texas that Optimus would 1 time beryllium babysitting your kids. But Tesla has a agelong mode to go, particularly if you instrumentality a look astatine what different robotics companies person achieved successful the past decade. Tesla is frankly trying to play drawback up with the leaders successful the manufacture and they’ve got rather a ways to go. Boston Dynamics, for example, had a robot that could pick itself up successful 2016, was lasting on 1 limb aboriginal that year, achieved backflips successful 2017, and was showing disconnected parkour-style jumping successful 2018.

But Musk himself whitethorn beryllium a small distracted astatine the infinitesimal to absorption connected robots. Much similar the remainder of America, the billionaire is watching the statesmanlike contention intimately arsenic President Joe Biden announced connected Sunday that he wouldn’t beryllium seeking a 2nd term, paving the mode for Vice President Kamala Harris to instrumentality connected Donald Trump. Unlike the remainder of America, Musk has millions of dollars and owns a immense societal media tract to assistance his feline win. Given the panic Musk and others were intelligibly showing present that Republicans person to look a much youthful opponent, it appears robot timelines are acold from apical of mind.

Tesla didn’t instantly respond to questions emailed Monday. Gizmodo volition update this station if we perceive back.