Musk said Tesla's humanoid robot could go on the market as early as the end of next year, and the price could be "less than half of the car"

Jimu News

2024-04-24 17:02Posted on the official account of Hubei Chutian Metropolis Daily

According to Reuters quoted by the global network, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said on the 23rd local time that Tesla's humanoid robot "Optimus Prime" may perform tasks in the factory at the end of this year, and may be listed at the end of next year at the earliest. However, some netizens commented that the timetable given by Musk was too optimistic.

Tesla humanoid robot prototype (Source: Global Network)

According to Reuters, Tesla launched the first generation of the "Optimus Prime" humanoid robot in September 2022, known as the "Bumblebee". On January 17 this year, Musk released a video of the second-generation "Optimus Prime" humanoid robot folding shirts by itself in the company's factory.

According to the report, in a conference call with investors on the 23rd, Musk predicted that by the end of this year, the "Optimus Prime" humanoid robot will have the ability to perform tasks in the factory. Musk believes that of all humanoid robot manufacturers, Tesla is the most likely to achieve mass production.

He added that the humanoid robot could begin limited mass production at the end of next year and be supplied to external customers. Musk emphasized that Optimus Prime will be more valuable than any other product combined, and Tesla's AI inference technology is also very different from any other company.

It is worth mentioning that Musk has previously said that the proportion of robot sales in Tesla's business may exceed that of other areas such as automobile manufacturing, and optimistically expects that "Optimus Prime" will account for "the majority of Tesla's long-term value". He also expects that demand for the robot could eventually reach as high as 10 billion to 20 billion units, and believes that the final price of Optimus Prime may be "less than half that of a car" at about $25,000.

At present, several technology companies around the world are betting on the humanoid robot track to cope with potential labor shortages and try to replace humans in industries such as logistics, warehousing, retail, and manufacturing to perform repetitive tasks that may be dangerous or tedious.

However, some industry insiders do not fully believe the prediction given by Musk. According to some reports, Musk has a history of failing to deliver on his bold promises to Wall Street. In 2019, he told investors that Tesla would operate a "robotaxi" driverless taxi network by 2020, but that vision has yet to materialize.

Some netizens joked on the social media platform X, "If the timeline of 'Optimus Prime' is the same as that of an electric pickup, then the final launch time will wait until 2032." ”

Jimu News is synthesized from Global Network, Finance Associated Press, and The Paper

(Source: Jimu News)

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