Tesla Says Optimus Bots Are Now Performing Autonomous Tasks At Its Factory, 3 Years After Introduction

EV giant Tesla Inc TSLA said on Tuesday that it deployed two of its humanoid bots called Optimus at its factory this year where they are performing tasks autonomously.

What Happened: Tesla announced the deployment among its other achievements for the year in a post on X, formerly Twitter, on Tuesday. The company has developed three major design revisions of Optimus and four revisions of its robotic hand in the last two years.

Optimus autonomously navigates Tesla’s office and labs daily, the company said, while adding that it has deployed two in its factory to perform tasks.

The humanoid robot Optimus is among Tesla’s many ventures besides EVs. During a game streaming session on X earlier this week, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said that he expects the number of humanoid robots in the world to exceed the human population one day.

“So, there probably might be two humanoid robots, or more, maybe 10, for every one human,” Musk said during the streaming session.

It is not clear as to what tasks the bots are performing at the factory now or whether it does them better than human workers. Tesla did not respond to Benzinga’s request for comment as of the time of publishing this report.

Why It Matters: Tesla introduced its humanoid bot in 2021 with the initial goal of handling unsafe, repetitive, or tedious tasks. During Tesla's first-quarter earnings call in April, Musk said that he anticipated Optimus to be able to perform useful tasks at the factory by the end of 2024, with external sales potentially starting by the end of 2025.

“I think Optimus will be more valuable than everything else combined. Because if you’ve got a sentient humanoid robot that is able to navigate reality and do tasks at request, there is no meaningful limit to the size of the economy," he added. When asked if the robots are performing any factory tasks, Musk in April said that the bots can do “simple factory tasks” in the lab.

Earlier this year, Musk confirmed to an X user that the Optimus will be priced between $25,000 and $30,000 initially and less as time passes. The CEO explained that making the Optimus costs the company only half as much as making a car. Tesla’s cheapest EV, the Model 3 sedan, starts at $38,990.

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