It positive looks as if the Optimus robots at Tesla’s occasion had been below human management

We didn’t study a lot new from Tesla’s Robotaxi occasion final night time, however one piece of knowledge we had been wanting ahead to was a bit info on Optimus, Tesla’s humanoid robotic. And we obtained some, however it’s possibly rather less flattering to Tesla than some may need preferred.

After unveiling the Robotaxi/Cybercab and Robovan, Tesla CEO Elon Musk went on to present us a bit bit of knowledge on the Optimus humanoid robotic that the corporate has been engaged on.

Musk talked about “we began up with somebody in a robotic go well with, after which we’ve progressed dramatically yr after yr” as a number of robots walked out in entrance of the gang.

He referred to those as “your personal private R2D2 C3-PO,” and that in the long run, these robots would value lower than a automotive – particularly, ~$20k-$30k. A video additionally described them as an “autonomous assistant, humanoid buddy” which may very well be used for principally any job you may consider.

Musk mentioned that Optimus can be “the most important product of any sort, ever” and figured everybody on Earth would need one or two of them, which is language he has used earlier than (nevermind that many of the 8 billion folks on Earth would not have the wealth to afford one new automotive, a lot much less two). He additionally mentioned that it could lead to an “age of abundance” the place the price of the whole lot would drop dramatically.

However past all that, Tesla took this occasion as a possibility to debut Optimus in entrance of – and amongst – a stay viewers. Musk mentioned:

One of many issues we wished to indicate tonight was that Optimus isn’t a canned video, it’s not walled-off. The Optimus robots will stroll amongst you. Please be good to the Optimus robots. So that you’ll be capable of stroll proper as much as them… they usually’ll serve drinks on the bar, and also you’ll instantly… I imply it’s a wild expertise simply to have humanoid robots they usually’re there, simply in entrance of you.

He then ended his speech by throwing to a gaggle of humanoid robots dancing in a gazebo (not in contrast to a video made by Honda ten years in the past…), and attendees had been certainly capable of work together with these robots in particular person.

Tesla’s occasion stream continued by exhibiting movies of the occasion, together with some movies of company interacting with robots. The robots waved, handed out goodie luggage, served drinks, posed for pictures, walked by the gang, and even performed rock paper scissors (although, once more, not in addition to this robotic with a 100% winrate from 12 years in the past).

The robots did all have a Tesla worker “minder” watching them intently, however visibly holding some type of signaling system of their hand. Within the video, you may see one of many workers working this system.

The official Tesla video (which had no audio, as music was enjoying over it) additionally confirmed a number of robots serving drinks, although these weren’t customized combined drinks, merely two selections of pre-mixed drinks served from beer faucets. The robots appeared to take action efficiently sufficient, although they had been considerably wobbly whereas serving the drinks (see right here), which appeared odd – as if the robots weren’t all that nice at balancing themselves, or their motions weren’t correctly damped or one thing.

However then, attendees began posting movies from the occasion, and one thing appeared… off.

There may be one widely-shared video of an worker seeming to set off Musk’s Robotaxi departure from a cellphone – however that’s comprehensible sufficient, on condition that Waymo’s currently-operating Stage 4 taxis interface with the rider’s cellphone to unlock the automotive and begin a trip as effectively, and it is smart from a stage administration perspective of conserving the occasion operating on cue (albeit 40+ minutes late).

However the stranger movies had been of direct interactions with the Optimus robots that “walked amongst us” within the crowd.

It seems the robots every had a voice and may very well be talked to. So, you might make a drink order, and even simply have a dialog with the robots that had been strolling the gang.

What Tesla is doing with Optimus is insane. It’s actually the robotic from iRobot starring Will Smith. #WeRobot pic.twitter.com/zM9pkkyOCu

— Austin (@AustinPlanet) October 11, 2024

In dialog, the robots had been impressively practical of their conversational tone, responding rapidly and with pure speech. We’ve seen some attention-grabbing developments on this respect from ChatGPT 4o, with pure intonation, however you may nonetheless inform that there’s one thing robotic occurring there.

However maybe they had been too spectacular, as a result of these conversations definitely appear to have a human on the opposite aspect of them.

He didn’t even ask for a tip!@Tesla_Optimus #teslabot #werobot pic.twitter.com/4r0ONZSk11

— Kim Java (@ItsKimJava) October 11, 2024

Every of the robots we’ve seen had a distinct voice, and a distinct accent – although principally California or Texas accents, the 2 areas the place Tesla has important presence. One even reportedly spoke Spanish, impressing one attendee, although conversational Spanish can also be not notably unusual within the areas the place Tesla operates, so the worker behind the scenes might effectively simply be bilingual.

This video, specifically, of a robotic speaking concerning the geography of the Bay Space, is a enjoyable one. Not solely does the robotic make a really human error when it asks whether or not the attendee lives within the “Santa Clarita” space close to San Jose (it’s Santa Clara – Santa Clarita is in Southern California, not the Bay Space), it additionally hears a non-standard pronunciation “Los Gatos” after which responds with a extra frequent one.