If you’re too lazy to go to the grocery store — or open the front door for your Instacart delivery — Elon Musk has the solution for you.
Musk on Thursday night unveiled the Tesla Optimus Robot, the company’s new 5’8″ robot that can be, what Musk called, “your own personal R2D2 [or] C-3PO.” The Tesla boss gave a preview of the bot, which the company plans on selling in 2026, at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, CA.
“What can it do? It can basically do anything you want,” Musk said. “It can be a teacher, babysit your kids, it can walk your dog, mow your lawn, get the groceries, just be your friend, serve drinks. Whatever you can think of, it will do.”
The faceless robot — which looks a bit like it could be the third member of Daft Punk — will cost $20,000 to $30,000 once the company is producing them at scale, Musk said.
While Musk was on stage, the video behind him called the robot an “autonomous assistant, humanoid friend,” as the audience watched it water plants and play board games with a family. (Musk did not say whether the robot from “Rocky IV” inspired Tesla’s bot.)
Later, event attendees were able to play the robots in games of rock-paper-scissors, watch them dance, and have them serve drinks, among other things.
“I think this will be the biggest product ever, of any kind,” Musk said. “I think everyone is going to want their Optimus buddy, maybe two.”
Musk — who has shared his concerns about rogue artificial intelligence wrecking humanity — said he believed there was an “80% probability of good” from mass robot adoption. Beyond household chores and playing with your kids, the Optimus Robot will be able to do certain jobs, like move boxes in warehouses.
“The costs of products and services will decline dramatically,” Musk said.
Tesla’s robots will likely spark further debate about the rise of AI and how it’ll affect workers in a variety of industries. This was a hot topic at TheWrap’s The Grill conference in Los Angeles earlier this week, with panelist Justine Bateman saying Hollywood’s increasing use of AI will “burn down the business.”
