It certain looks like the Optimus robots at Tesla’s occasion have been below human management

We didn’t study a lot new from Tesla’s Robotaxi occasion final night time, however one piece of data we have been wanting ahead to was just a little data on Optimus, Tesla’s humanoid robotic. And we bought some, but it surely’s perhaps rather less flattering to Tesla than some may need favored.

After unveiling the Robotaxi/Cybercab and Robovan, Tesla CEO Elon Musk went on to present us just a little bit of data on the Optimus humanoid robotic that the corporate has been engaged on.

Musk talked about “we began up with somebody in a robotic swimsuit, after which we’ve progressed dramatically 12 months after 12 months” as a number of robots walked out in entrance of the group.

He referred to those as “your personal private R2D2 C3-PO,” and that in the long run, these robots would price lower than a automobile – particularly, ~$20k-$30k. A video additionally described them as an “autonomous assistant, humanoid pal” which could possibly be used for principally any process you possibly can consider.

Musk stated that Optimus can be “the largest product of any form, ever” and figured everybody on Earth would need one or two of them, which is language he has used earlier than (nevermind that a lot of the 8 billion individuals on Earth do not need the wealth to afford one new automobile, a lot much less two). He additionally stated that it might lead to an “age of abundance” the place the price of all the things would drop dramatically.

However past all that, Tesla took this occasion as a possibility to debut Optimus in entrance of – and amongst – a reside viewers. Musk stated:

One of many issues we needed to point out tonight was that Optimus just isn’t a canned video, it’s not walled-off. The Optimus robots will stroll amongst you. Please be good to the Optimus robots. So that you’ll be capable of stroll proper as much as them… and so they’ll serve drinks on the bar, and also you’ll immediately… I imply it’s a wild expertise simply to have humanoid robots and so they’re there, simply in entrance of you.

He then ended his speech by throwing to a gaggle of humanoid robots dancing in a gazebo (not in contrast to a video made by Honda ten years in the past…), and attendees have been certainly in a position to work together with these robots in individual.

Tesla’s occasion stream continued by exhibiting movies of the get together, together with some movies of friends interacting with robots. The robots waved, handed out goodie baggage, served drinks, posed for images, walked by the group, and even performed rock paper scissors (although, once more, not in addition to this robotic with a 100% winrate from 12 years in the past).

The robots did all have a Tesla worker “minder” watching them intently, however visibly holding some form of signaling gadget of their hand. Within the video, you possibly can see one of many workers working this gadget.

The official Tesla video (which had no audio, as music was taking part in over it) additionally confirmed a couple of robots serving drinks, although these weren’t customized combined drinks, merely two decisions of pre-mixed drinks served from beer faucets. The robots appeared to take action efficiently sufficient, although they have been considerably wobbly whereas serving the drinks (see right here), which appeared odd – as if the robots weren’t all that nice at balancing themselves, or their motions weren’t correctly damped or one thing.

However then, attendees began posting movies from the occasion, and one thing appeared… off.

There’s one widely-shared video of an worker seeming to set off Musk’s Robotaxi departure from a telephone – however that’s comprehensible sufficient, provided that Waymo’s currently-operating Degree 4 taxis interface with the rider’s telephone to unlock the automobile and begin a trip as nicely, and it is sensible from a stage administration perspective of retaining the occasion operating on cue (albeit 40+ minutes late).

However the stranger movies have been of direct interactions with the Optimus robots that “walked amongst us” within the crowd.

It seems the robots every had a voice and could possibly be talked to. So, you can make a drink order, and even simply have a dialog with the robots that have been strolling the group.

What Tesla is doing with Optimus is insane. It’s actually the robotic from iRobot starring Will Smith. #WeRobot pic.twitter.com/zM9pkkyOCu

— Austin (@AustinPlanet) October 11, 2024

In dialog, the robots have been impressively reasonable of their conversational tone, responding rapidly and with pure speech. We’ve seen some attention-grabbing developments on this respect from ChatGPT 4o, with pure intonation, however you possibly can nonetheless inform that there’s one thing robotic happening there.

However maybe they have been too spectacular, as a result of these conversations actually appear to have a human on the opposite facet of them.

He didn’t even ask for a tip!@Tesla_Optimus #teslabot #werobot pic.twitter.com/4r0ONZSk11

— Kim Java (@ItsKimJava) October 11, 2024

Every of the robots we’ve seen had a special voice, and a special accent – although principally California or Texas accents, the 2 places the place Tesla has important presence. One even reportedly spoke Spanish, impressing one attendee, although conversational Spanish can also be not notably unusual within the areas the place Tesla operates, so the worker behind the scenes may nicely simply be bilingual.

This video, specifically, of a robotic speaking concerning the geography of the Bay Space, is a enjoyable one. Not solely does the robotic make a really human error when it asks whether or not the attendee lives within the “Santa Clarita” space close to San Jose (it’s Santa Clara – Santa Clarita is in Southern California, not the Bay Space), it additionally hears a non-standard pronunciation “Los Gatos” after which responds with a extra widespread one.