Tesla has unveiled the latest version of its Optimus robot, demonstrating new hands that allow it to perform delicate tasks like cooking eggs.
Tesla’s humanoid robot, first unveiled last year, forms a key part of CEO Elon Musk’s plan to automate all physical human labour and supercharge manufacturing processes.
Optimus Gen 2 features improved actuators and sensors in the robot, allowing it to work 30 per cent faster than its predecessor, according to Tesla.
The robot’s weight has also been reduced by 10kg, while its balance is greatly improved.
Tesla’s ambition for its Optimus bot is to create a “general purpose, bi-pedal, autonomous humanoid robot capable of performing unsafe, repetitive or boring tasks”.
Mr Musk has previously claimed that the humanoid robot has the potential to be “more significant” than the company’s electric car business.
“Essentially in the future, physical work will be a choice,” the tech boss said when the robot was first announced in 2021. “It has profound implications for the economy, given that the economy at its foundational level is labour.”
In a biography of the billionaire published earlier this year, it was revealed that Mr Musk told employees that the Optimus robot was the key to transforming Tesla into a $10 trillion company. The firm currently has a market cap of around $750 billion, making it the world’s most valuable automaker.
The second generation of the Optimus bot marks significant progress for Tesla, coming just one year after unveiling a prototype that was unable to walk unassisted.
In a post to X, formerly Twitter, Mr Musk said the robot would be able to “thread a needle” within the next year.Tesla has not yet set an official release date or price for the robot, though early versions will likely be tested on vehicle production lines.
A commercial version is expected to be ready for customers in around three-to-five years, according to Mr Musk.
