Matt Novak
When will Tesla deliver on those Optimus robots we keep hearing about? It’s going to be a little while longer than first anticipated, according to CEO Elon Musk.
“Tesla will have genuinely useful humanoid robots in low production for Tesla internal use next year and, hopefully, high production for other companies in 2026,” Musk tweeted on Monday morning.
As Electrek points out, that’s a delay from what was previously promised by Musk. The Tesla CEO had said back in April that he’d have Optimus robots working in Tesla factories by the end of 2024 with deliveries to other companies by 2025. That’s clearly not happening anymore, based on more recent comments.
Musk first announced the Tesla robot during a very strange event where a human dressed in a skin-tight suit just did a little on stage. That was 2021 and even Musk defenders had to admit it was bizarre to watch. Tesla has come quite a way in the past three years, from literally having nothing to a functional robot that can walk and pick things up. But the company has also struggled to show major achievements without some significant sleight of hand.
For example, Musk pushed out a video to social media in January that showed Optimus folding some laundry. But it wasn’t long before people spotted something strange happening in the lower corner of the video. It became obvious that this robot wasn’t actually working autonomously, instead folding laundry as someone just out of frame was moving their own arms in sync. You can even see it in the GIF below, with our own red arrow added.
After Musk and his robot were ridiculed online for the deception, other robotics companies started to put text on their videos to note that they were actually working autonomously. The phrase “no teleoperation” was added to make it clear that nobody was just off screen trying to pull the wool over your eyes.
As recently as last month, Musk was hyping up Optimus like it was just over the horizon, insisting at the Tesla shareholder’s meeting in Austin, Texas that Optimus would one day be babysitting your kids. But Tesla has a long way to go, especially if you take a look at what other robotics companies have achieved in the last decade. Tesla is frankly trying to play catch up with the leaders in the industry and they’ve got quite a ways to go. Boston Dynamics, for example, had a robot that could pick itself up in 2016, was standing on one leg later that year, achieved backflips in 2017, and was showing off parkour-style jumping in 2018.
But Musk himself may be a little distracted at the moment to focus on robots. Much like the rest of America, the billionaire is watching the presidential race closely as President Joe Biden announced on Sunday that he wouldn’t be seeking a second term, paving the way for Vice President Kamala Harris to take on Donald Trump. Unlike the rest of America, Musk has millions of dollars and owns a huge social media site to help his guy win. Given the panic Musk and others were clearly showing now that Republicans have to face a more youthful opponent, it appears robot timelines are far from top of mind.
Tesla didn’t immediately respond to questions emailed Monday. Gizmodo will update this post if we hear back.