A robot to babysit your kids? Elon Musk sees advanced future with human-like machines

Ready for a robot to take on those menial tasks—and much more?

At a Tesla event on October 10, Elon Musk showcased the latest robots that are getting better at being human-like. It’s comparable to getting your own person R2-D2/C-3PO, he said.

“What can it do?” Musk asked in a video of the event that was posted on the Tesla website of the event. “It can be a teacher, baby-sit your kids. It can walk your dog, mow your lawn, get the groceries, just be your friend, serve drinks.”

The event, called “We, Robot,” demonstrated Tesla’s Optimus machines as they danced in a sort of glass enclosure, waved at attendees and handed out items.

It was part of Musk’s announcements that also included the company’s “Cybercabs,” sleek, AI-powered vehicles that don’t have steering wheels or pedals. But fans will have to wait until at least 2026 before they are available.

Musk didn’t give specific timelines on the Optimus robots from Tesla, which is based in Austin. When they are at scale, they should cost around $20,000 to $30,000, or less than a car in the long-term.

During the event, a video showed a robot watering a houseplant, playing some kind of game at a table with people and getting groceries out of a trunk before putting them at the kitchen countertop.

“It’s going to be awesome,” Musk said at the event held in California. “I think this will be the biggest product ever of any kind. … Of the 8 billion people of earth, I think everyone’s going to want their Optimus buddy.”

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