Tesla’s Optimus humanoid robots still need a lot of help from a human teleoperator who is hidden from view.
For example, during a glitzy event at a Hollywood film studio in October 2024, an army of two-legged robots could be seen pouring drinks and interacting with event attendees – a stunt that relied heavily on a team of remote-controlled off-camera pilots.
Now, a new video This came across perfectly – and comically – on social media, demonstrating just how far away Tesla still is from fully automating the movements of its humanoid robots, despite doing its best to sell the illusion.
The footage, recorded at Tesla’s “Autopilot Technology and Optimus” event at its Miami store this weekend, shows a robot standing behind a table filled with plastic water bottles when it suddenly raises its hands toward its temples, loses its balance and stumbles backward, ultimately falling onto its back.
The mysterious behavior led many to conclude that it was mimicking its teleoperator, who was caught removing his virtual reality headset while logging off, causing the illusion of autonomy to suddenly break.
“If there was any question Optimus uses Telop for its robots,” said Six Liv, CEO of the robotics company. Tweeted“Here, apparently a guy has taken off the headset, and he falls,”
He added, “It’s absolutely ridiculous though.”
“Ignore the low-wage employee operating your Tesla hydration bot,” KotakuEthan Gach wroteThe title refers to the “Wizard of Oz”, who is revealed to be a humble balloonist from Kansas, after using magical tricks to make himself appear “great and powerful”.
The video highlights the still-huge gap between the humanoid robot hardware and the necessary software that allows it to roam the world without being operated by a human.
And it’s not just Tesla. Robotics company 1X was recently criticized for showing off its NEO humanoid robot, which costs $20,000, which would require Customers must sign off Navigating their homes via a robot on a hired teleoperator.
For Tesla, the stakes are huge. CEO Elon Musk has previously claimed that Tesla’s future depends on the success of its AI offerings and Optimus, a robot he claims can do just that. Generate over $10 trillion in revenue Over the long term and grow the company’s market capitalization to just over $1 trillion up to $25 trillion,
But as the latest video shows, the reality lags far behind the billionaire’s typically ambitious predictions. If it can’t hand out water bottles to event attendees on its own, what exactly can it do?
As Electrek tellsMusk promised on Tesla’s earnings call in October that the Optimus Was doing “Kung Fu” at the premiere “Nobody” from “Tron: Ares” is controlling it.
But if we were to hazard a guess, a human martial artist could still easily defeat a kick-ass robot – simply by overturning it.
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