Tesla AI Day 2022 Review: Optimus Robot Could Be Here In 3 Years - Forbes

Many were hoping to get a better look at the anticipated Optimus robot, and they were not disappointed at Tesla AI Day 2022.

Optimus opened the show and the capabilities of the humanoid robot were demonstrated to the in-person crowd and the 50,000 viewers of the live stream.

They stressed that the robot is still in the rough developmental stage, but nevertheless Optimus was walking around on stage and waving their hands in the air. Viewers were also shown a video of the robot watering plants, lifting heavy objects and carrying boxes.

Musk also rolled out a sleeker version of the robot which he said was closer to what the end product would look like. The version was still in the very early stages and couldn’t yet walk, but it was able to manage a wave to the crowd.

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In typical Elon Musk fashion, he admitted that this was the first time ever that Optimus had been walking without any additional mechanical supports.

Awww, we witnessed the robots' first steps. How cute.

The presentation went into some detail about the challenges facing Tesla engineers, in particular around areas such as the knee joints. These are a much more complicated feat of engineering that it might first appear.

They also explained how the technology being used for their vehicles will form the base of the Optimus ‘brain’. In particular, the visual processing AI that is used by Tesla cars to avoid obstacles, moderate speed and “fully self-drive”.

Tesla car powertrain compared to the new Tesla Robot

Photo Credit: Tesla YouTube Livestream

One of the key aims is to have the Optimus bit grounded in practicality. The team are doing extensive work on the power system to ensure that the robot will be able to complete a full day of work on a single charge.

Musk also stated that the robot will cost significantly less than their vehicles, with an estimated starting price of around $20,000.

Estimates like these have been way off in the past, so we’ll take that figure with a big grain of salt.

Likewise, the timeline of the project is equally optimistic, with Musk saying he expected customers to be able to purchase Optimus in 3 to 5 years.

The long term vision musk has for Optimus is for it to become a bigger part of the business than the vehicles. Big plans from Musk are nothing new.

Optimus Robots complex hand

Photo Credit: Tesla YouTube Livestream

FSD Beta Update

There was also an update on the Fully Self Driving Beta which now has 160,000 vehicles enrolled. Given that one of the stated aims of AI day is to recruit talent to work in the artificial intelligence area of Tesla, this part of the presentation went suitably ‘into the weeds.’

The main takeaway for investors and car owners is that the system continues to be refined. Additional problems continue to arise and there are stubborn challenges, such as lane selection. Nevertheless the reality of a fully self driving vehicle is growing ever closer.

Dojo Update

Lastly we saw an update on the Dojo supercomputer. The presentation showed that processing applications that often took months could be reduced down to a single week with the new chip.

Elon Musk can be fired

Musk also reminded the crowd (in case they’d forgotten) that Tesla is a public company and that he can be fired at any time. He said that the humanoid project is an important one that had the ability to bring great change to the world and that having a public company doing this provided some security and ‘checks and balances.’

It’s a fair comment given that for all his fans, Elon Musk is often seen as a volatile character. This has been highlighted again this week through the leaking of a number of messages between him, Jack Dorsey and Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal.

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