On Friday, at Tesla's office in Palo Alto, California, Elon Musk showed off a prototype of his company's first humanoid robot, called Optimus.
Optimus walked on stage and waved to the audience. Musk noted that this was the first time the robot has moved without support.
The Tesla chief executive appears to be convinced that mass production of robots is possible, with millions of copies eventually being sold at a price of less than $20,000.
“Our goal is to make a useful humanoid robot as quickly as possible,” Musk said. “There’s still a lot of work to be done to refine Optimus.”
Tesla showed off the robot's abilities in a short video: Optimus carried a box and watered flowers, navigating with the help of numerous sensors. Musk said that the robot shares the same sensors with the Tesla autopilot system.
Social media users appeared to love Optimus, praising Tesla for a "correct approach" to making robots.
According to the company, the first Optimuses are already working at the Tesla enterprise, being charged with routine work. However, they remain under the supervision of engineers.