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Elon Musk Introduces New Robot Personal Assistant


Elon Musk introduced his new humanoid robots at a recent We, Robot event.

Musk’s new robot, Optimus, is being promoted as a personal assistant capable of having conversations, cleaning up messes, and even pouring you a drink.

Take a look at the new humanoid robots here:

Many users were pessimistic about the new robots and compared the robots to the robots in the movie iRobot.

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Per Newsweek:

At Tesla’s recent We, Robot event, the company unveiled the latest iteration of its humanoid robot, Optimus, sparking instant comparisons with Sonny, the robot protagonist from the 2004 movie I, Robot.

The Optimus robot’s likeness to Sonny seems intentional, as underscored by the event’s title. Social media reactions to the unveiling confirmed that the resemblance was not lost on Tesla’s audience, further fueling the sci-fi narrative CEO Elon Musk often embraces.

At the event, where the Cybercab also debuted, Optimus demonstrated its capacity for basic interaction, as seen in a viral clip shared on X, formerly Twitter, by user @cb_doge, who captioned the video, “A conversation between Tesla Optimus bot and a human is the best thing you’ll see on the internet today.”

In the video, Optimus chats with an attendee, asking, “Where are you from?” When the attendee later asks what the hardest part of being a robot is, Optimus replies: “Trying to learn how to be as human as you guys? And that’s something I try harder to do every day.” Newsweek has contacted Tesla via email for comment.

Social media lit up with further comparisons, with one X user commenting that I, Robot “is coming at us faster than we thought.”

Other observers drew connections between Tesla’s new Cybervan and the robot transport vehicles in I, Robot. “Tesla literally created the ROBOT and VAN from iRobot with Optimus and the RoboVan. #WeRobot,” one user wrote.

The humanoids in I, Robot function in the near-future society of 2035, assisting humans with everyday tasks. The protagonist, Sonny, is an advanced model capable of independent thought and emotions. Tesla’s Optimus, while far from possessing Sonny’s sentience, stirred similar excitement for its potential future use cases.

Per The Verge:

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A bunch of Tesla’s humanoid Optimus robots walked out alongside the reveal of Tesla’s new Robovan vehicle at tonight’s Cybercab event. The robot is also seen in a video doing daily human tasks like bringing in a package from the porch and watering your plants.

“The Optimus will walk amongst you,” Tesla CEO Elon Musk says. “You’ll be able to walk right up to them, and they will serve drinks.”

Musk explains it can basically “do anything” and mentions examples like walking your dog, babysitting your kids, and mowing your lawn. He said it will cost $20,000 to $30,000 “long term.”

“I think this will be the biggest product ever of any kind,” Musk says.



 

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