Elon Musk says Tesla’s robot will make physical work a ‘choice’
Tesla boss Elon Musk announced the latest frontier he’s aiming to conquer: humanoid robots. He would have an initial prototype by next year.
[August 20, 2021: The Brighter Side of News]
After dominating the electric vehicle market and throwing his hat into the billionaire space race, Tesla boss Elon Musk announced the latest frontier he's aiming to conquer: humanoid robots.
The irascible entrepreneur said Thursday he would have an initial prototype of an androgynous "Tesla Bot" by next year.
Based on the same technology as the company's semi-autonomous vehicles, the robot will be able to perform basic repetitive tasks with the aim of eliminating the need for people to handle dangerous or boring work, Musk said at an online event on Tesla's advances in artificial intelligence (AI).
"Tesla is arguably the world's biggest robotics company because cars are semi-sentient robots on wheels," he said. "It kind of makes sense to put that into a humanoid form."
Tesla's touting of its automation technology comes as the carmaker faces increased scrutiny over its driver-assistance system, with safety regulators in the United States launching a probe after a series of crashes.
Tesla is accused of misleading motorists into believing the so-called Autopilot vehicles can drive themselves, though Musk has defended the system.
The Autopilot controversy was not discussed at Thursday's two and a half hour online conference, or brought up during questions from the audience.
Instead, Musk pledged that his future robot would be a benign presence.
He said the Tesla Bot, which will have five-fingered hands and come in black and white, is intended to be "friendly" and built such that "you can run away from it and most likely overpower it."
"Hopefully that won't happen, but you never know," he joked.
Musk, the second richest person in the world according to Forbes, told the conference he believes robots will phase out physical labor for people.
"I think essentially in the future physical work will be a choice," he said.
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Tags: #New_Innovations, #Tesla_Bot, #Elon_Musk, #Tesla, #Robotics, #The_Brighter_Side_of_News
Joseph Shavit
Head Science News Writer | Communicating Innovation & Discovery
Based in Los Angeles, Joseph Shavit is an accomplished science journalist, head science news writer and co-founder at The Brighter Side of News, where he translates cutting-edge discoveries into compelling stories for a broad audience. With a strong background spanning science, business, product management, media leadership, and entrepreneurship, Joseph brings a unique perspective to science communication. His expertise allows him to uncover the intersection of technological advancements and market potential, shedding light on how groundbreaking research evolves into transformative products and industries.
