Elon Musk says to expect roughly 1 billion humanoid robots in 2040s
Teslas Cybertruck is the ugliest vehicle I ever laid eyes on: Mike Caudill
Auto expert Mike Caudill argues Elon Musk’s design of the Tesla Cybertruck will push potential buyers away on Cavuto: Coast to Coast.
Billionaire Elon Musk took to social media to express his agreement with a fellow tech leader’s prediction that there will be about 1 billion humanoid robots on Earth in two decades.
Musk took to X, formerly Twitter, to concur with the prediction made by David Holz, the founder of artificial intelligence (AI) research lab Midjourney. Holz said in a post last week that “we should be expecting a billion humanoid robots on earth in the 2040s and a hundred billion (mostly alien) robots throughout the solar system in the 2060s.”
Musk replied, “Probably something like that, provided the foundations of civilization are stable.”
Tesla, one of the companies Musk founded, has developed a prototype humanoid robot that the billionaire may view as contributing to humanity reaching that lofty prediction two decades from now.
The Tesla Optimus, also known as Tesla Bot, was first announced at the company’s AI Day even in August 2021 when Musk said the company planned to build a prototype by the following year. He said of the robot at the time, “I think it has the potential to be more significant than the vehicle business over time.”
At an event in October 2022, Musk said that he hopes to eventually make millions of the Optimus robots, which would carry an estimated $20,000 price tag per unit – though the robot was limited in its capabilities and Musk said after it walked on stage that he wouldn’t ask it to do more complicated tasks because he “didn’t want it to fall on its face.”
“There’s still a lot of work to be done to refine Optimus,” Musk said at the time. “I think Optimus is going to be incredible in five or 10 years.”
As of 2022, Musk said he hoped to bring the robot to market in three to five years and that once ready it will be “an extremely capable” machine.
He told Reuters that while making humanoid robots isn’t “directly in line with accelerating sustainable energy” as part of Tesla’s overarching goal, “I think the mission does somewhat broaden with the advent of Optimus to – you know, I don’t know: making the future awesome.”
Tesla’s Elon Musk shows off humanoid robot ‘Optimus’ prototype with expected $20K price tag
Tesla CEO Elon Musk on Friday showed off a humanoid robot prototype dubbed “Optimus,” saying he hopes to make millions of the machines and sell them to consumers with a $20,000 price tag.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk on Friday showed off a humanoid robot prototype dubbed “Optimus,” saying he hopes to make millions of the machines and sell them to consumers with a $20,000 price tag.
Musk had the robot walk on stage and wave at the crowd but withheld it from doing more complicated tasks because he “didn’t want it to fall on its face.”
A video of the robot showed that it could handle more complicated tasks like carrying boxes and placing a metal bar into what appeared to be a factory machine.
But onlookers were underwhelmed by the machine Musk suggested would be “mind-blowing.”
“None of this is cutting edge,” tweeted robotics expert Cynthia Yeung. “Hire some PhDs and go to some robotics conferences @Tesla.”
AI researcher Filip Piekniewski was also unimpressed and tweeted the exhibit was “next level cringeworthy” and a “complete and utter scam.”
The AI researcher added that it would be “good to test falling, as this thing will be falling a lot.”
Musk attempted to temper expectations and told onlookers “There’s still a lot of work to be done to refine Optimus.”
“I think Optimus is going to be incredible in five or 10 years,” he added.
Musk said the main problem with the humanoid robot is that it is “missing a brain” and is unable to problem-solve on its own.
Despite its current shortcomings Musk hopes to have the robot hit the market in three to five years and said when ready it will be “an extremely capable” machine.
The robot’s appeal is intended to help streamline factory work and potentially fill roles human employees find less desirable.
However, the production of the humanoids will deviate from Tesla’s original mission to “accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy.”
“Optimus is not directly in line with accelerating sustainable energy,” Musk said according to Reuters. “I think the mission does somewhat broaden with the advent of Optimus to – you know, I don’t know: making the future awesome.”
The Tesla Cybertruck is almost ready to set sail … apparently.
Elon Musk tweeted on Thursday that Tesla’s upcoming electric pickup will be somewhat seaworthy.
“Cybertruck will be waterproof enough to serve briefly as a boat, so it can cross rivers, lakes & even seas that aren’t too choppy,” Musk wrote.
He had made a similar claim about the vehicle in 2020 and had also said the same thing about the Tesla Model S in 2016.
“We *def* don’t recommend this, but Model S floats well enough to turn it into a boat for short periods. Thrust via wheel rotation,” he tweeted about the Model S.
He did not elaborate on how the Cybertruck would propel itself but did offer a reason why he was interested in the capability.
“Needs to be able to get from Starbase to South Padre Island, which requires crossing the channel,” Musk explained.
Starbase is the main headquarters of the SpaceX rocket company Musk also leads, which is located in Brownsville, Texas, and is separated from South Padre Island by a channel that does not have a bridge and takes around an hour to drive around.
