Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) is planning to launch the prototype of a humanoid robot next year, chief executive Elon Musk said at the company’s latest artificial intelligence (AI) day.
The robot is designed to eliminate “dangerous, repetitive and boring tasks”, Musk told the audience, adding that “essentially the future of physical work will be a choice”.
Describing Tesla as arguably the world’s leading robotics company already, the Tesla bot would handle takes such as picking groceries and take the drudgery out of everyday life.
“Our cars are basically semi-sentient robots on wheels,” Musk said, adding the robot would be five foot eight inches tall (Musk is five foot ten)
The robot would have "profound implications for the economy", Musk added and would not be "super-expensive".
Tesla’s car technology has come under increasing scrutiny recently due to the incidences of crashes allegedly when drivers have been utilising the company’s assistance or no-hands system.
Musk made no comment on the probes but repeated his previously stated confidence that Tesla’s systems are safer than the people driving cars.
Tesla also unveiled in-house designed computer chips for the high-speed computer, Dojo, that will develop an automated driving system and power the self-driving Cybertruck, which was the star of Tesla’s lat AI day in 2017 but has subsequently been delayed with no timeline for its launch.
Company watchers commented that Musk has often unveiled prototypes to a huge fanfare at events only for the programmes to be scaled back later.