On October 28, according to Business Insider, some New Yorkers received candies distributed by Tesla robots before Halloween. On Monday local time in the United States, Tesla demonstrated two future products in front of the Nasdaq building in Times Square:One is Cybercab, a fully autonomous car that has not yet been put into mass production and has no steering wheel or pedals; the other is Optimus, a humanoid robot that is also in the research and development stage and is distributing candy to passers-by.
Tesla shows off Cybercab and Optimus
Footage captured by New Yorkers showed Optimus picking up a small red and yellow package from the table and handing it to passers-by. According to Rebecca Quick, co-anchor of CNBC’s financial column “Business Talk,” the bag contains “gummies.”
Quick said: "Although Optimus dropped it once or twice, he was able to pick it up again."
Tesla Chairman Robyn Denholm was interviewed by Quaker and agreed with Optimus’ capabilities. "I've seen Optimus in the lab, and it can even fold laundry," Denhomme said.
Optimus makes sugar
At the demo in New York, Optimus appeared to be powered via the shoulder port. This isn't the first time Optimus robots have distributed candy. It has also previously given out candy at Tesla's trick-or-treat Halloween parties for employees.
In previous Optimus demonstrations, Tesla's humanoid robot used remote control. At the 2024 "We Robot" event, Tesla deployed several Optimus robots to serve as bartenders.
Morgan Stanley analysts later pointed out that these robots do not operate completely independently, but "rely on remote operation", that is, human control behind the scenes.
In June this year, insiders revealed to Business Insider that Tesla was pursuing a purely visual technology route for the Optimus project. Tesla gave up on remote control training through motion capture suits and VR headsets, and instead focused on recording images of employees performing tasks to train robots.
Earlier this month, the Optimus humanoid robot appeared at the premiere of "Tron: God of War." Tesla CEO Elon Musk made it clear during the third quarter earnings call that the Optimus at the event was not remotely controlled.
“No one is controlling it, it’s just out there practicing kung fu with actor Jared Leto,” Musk said.
Optimus commercialization is key to Tesla's growth plans. Musk predicted in September that 80% of Tesla's value would ultimately come from Optimus. Earlier this year, he also said Optimus "has the potential to generate over $10 trillion in revenue."
"The large-scale application of Optimus is like an unlimited money printing machine," Musk said at the earnings conference. "In terms of improving human productivity, pure software AI has a ceiling, but embodied AI has almost no limits."