Tesla’s second AI day is being held today and you can watch it here. Stay tuned for the live stream, which is embedded below, and starts at 9:15 PM EST (6:15 PM PST).
We know from previous tweets from CEO Elon Musk that Tesla’s AI team has been on tight deadlines, tasked with completing new smart summon and autopark features before the end of the month. Announcements surrounding Autopilot may also be announced at the event.
The big update for the event will undoubtedly be the reveal of Optimus. First announced at the automaker’s AI Day 1 in 2021, the concept raised eyebrows because of the unusual and apparent smell of the idea.
Musk has since doubled down on the idea, promising that a prototype of the humanoid robot would be presented at this event. The product is intended to perform “dangerous, menial or boring” tasks, the company said.
Optimus is expected to be 5 ft 8 in tall (1.75 m) and tip the scales to 125 lbs (57 kg). The company claims that it can pick up 20.4 kg with its hands. Musk previously said that a bipedal robot was ideal for a world made for human bodies.
According to a job posting on its website, Tesla was looking for programmers to work on the robot quite recently. In the message, the automaker said it plans to use “thousands of Humanoid Robots” in its manufacturing facilities.
However, the wider robotics community is bracing for more Muskian antics. Nancy Cooke, a professor of human systems engineering at Arizona State University, recently told Reuters that “If… [Musk] just let the robot walk around… or make the robot dance, that’s already done. That’s not that impressive.”
Musk, a fan of showmanship, has already presented a version of the robot, which was just a person in a robot costume. He has also previously shown the supposedly unbreakable glass on the Cybertruck and launched the Tesla Roadster into space. Despite this, neither vehicle is actually available for purchase and neither has even gone into production. That could explain why Musk wants the help of robots in Tesla factories.