Elon Musk, Tesla CEO, said that his company is currently working on a humanoid robotics system and will produce a prototype by next year.
Musk, who has repeatedly spoken out about his concerns of runaway artificial intelligence (RAI), said that Tesla is meant to be friendly. However, Tesla designed the robot at a mechanical level so you can run from it and most likely overpower its abilities. He said that the codename for the bot is Optimus.
According to the company's website, the robots will only be able to perform repetitive, unsafe or boring tasks. Musk stated that the bot is called Tesla Bot.
Musk showed sketches of the robot at the end of his company's AI Day event. This was where it displayed some of the supercomputer and artificial intelligence technologies it is working on to power self-driving cars. A mannequin version was also on display, but it wasn't working.
Tesla's history is full of fanciful ideas. They never pan out, like a solar-powered Supercharger network or battery swapping. It is anyone's guess whether a functioning Tesla Bot will ever be made. Musk's will is what has brought the company to where it is today. Musk, however, said that the near-term economics for entering the robotics market will be determined.
