Elon Musk, Tesla’s CEO, introduced the humanoid robot Optimus on Friday, but controversy continues over suspicions that the robot was operated by remote control rather than autonomously.
At the RoboTaxi event, Musk introduced Optimus and emphasized that the robot has made significant progress every year. During the event, Optimus, dressed as a bartender, demonstrated interactions with the audience by serving drinks. Musk stated that the robot would move freely among participants, serving drinks at the bar.
However, U.S. IT media outlets, citing testimony from the attendee Robert Scoble, raised suspicions that while Optimus moved autonomously through the crowd using AI, humans controlled other actual operations remotely. Tesla employees were reportedly seen holding devices that appeared to be remote control units during the event.
This led to skepticism, as Optimus appeared to operate autonomously during conversations but exhibited behavior that mimicked human voices. Notably, in a video Scoble posted on X, Optimus hesitated to give a positive response when asked about the extent of its AI capabilities.
Wall Street’s evaluations of the event were mixed. Adam Jonas, Head of Morgan Stanley’s auto and space research, noted that while the robots demonstrated flexibility and agility, they relied on human intervention rather than fully autonomous operation. On the other hand, Deutsche Bank analyst Edison Yu gave a positive assessment, predicting that Tesla could sell 200,000 robots by 2035. Reflecting these opinions, Tesla’s stock fell 8.8% on October 11 but later rose 0.62%, closing at $219.16.
Despite these suspicions, Tesla has not responded to media requests for comments, and some outlets have criticized Tesla for allegedly hiding the truth. While acknowledging Optimus’s potential, financial media have taken a critical view of the controversy surrounding the event.
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