The much-heralded humanoid robot "Optimus" was on display by Tesla CEO Elon Musk on Friday during the electric vehicle manufacturer's AI Day event. Musk, the Technoking of Tesla, predicted that a robot business will be more valuable than its automobiles in an effort to go beyond self-driving cars, which have yet to materialize despite his repeated assurances.
The robot's prototype entered the stage and waved to the spectators sitting in their seats. In a video taken in the automaker's workplace, the robot can be seen watering plants, carrying a box, and moving metal bars.
Musk claimed that contemporary humanoid robots were "missing a brain," lacking the capacity to independently navigate the world. They were also incredibly expensive and produced in small quantities. In contrast, he claimed, Optimus would be a "highly capable robot" that would eventually be produced in millions of units, in very high production, and for less than $20,000, making it much less expensive than a car.
According to Musk, Tesla should accomplish fully autonomous driving this year and mass-produce a robotaxi without a steering wheel or pedal by 2024. Musk and Tesla officials agreed that there was still a lot of work to be done in order to build a low-cost, mass-produced robot that could take the place of people in the workplace.
Tesla is not the first automaker to dabble in robotics as others like Toya and Honda have also created humanoid robot prototypes capable of complex tasks. However, Tesla is the only company driving the market for a mass-market robot that may be utilized in manufacturing. Staff members dragged a next-generation Tesla bot onto the stage. It will feature parts made by Tesla, including a chip system, actuators for its limbs, and a 2.3 kWh battery pack carried in its torso. It is intended for the robot to weigh 73 kg.
Third Quarter Deliveries
Tesla has released its 2022 third-quarter vehicle manufacturing and delivery figures. These are the figures: Total deliveries for Q3 2022 is 343,000 and total production for the third quarter is 365,000. The closest estimate of sales provided by Tesla is deliveries, which fell short of the 364,660 vehicles predicted by analysts.
Additionally, Tesla reported that during Q3, the company manufactured 345,988 of its more well-liked Model 3 and Y vehicles and 19,935 of its more expensive Model S and X vehicles. When Tesla reported making 258,580 vehicles in the previous quarter of 2022, total production climbed.
Rising commodity prices, managerial turnover (including the prominent resignation of AI chief Andrej Karpathy in July), and growing pains at its new factories in Texas and Germany were some of the challenges Tesla encountered in the third quarter of 2022. Historically, Tesla has not broken out its vehicle production and delivery figures by geographical location.
Tesla had to temporarily halt the majority of production at its Shanghai factory in July of this year so that improvements could be made. However, according to data from the China Passenger Car Association, the company's production and deliveries in China had recovered by the month of August.
At the end of the second quarter in the US, Tesla made additional workforce reductions in addition to closing an entire AI office. Musk further stipulated that, even if they had previously been permitted to work remotely, all Tesla employees must spend at least 40 hours each week working at a Tesla office.
Following that, some workers were let go while others made the decision to resign, and those who returned to work discovered that some offices remained overcrowded into the third quarter, making it difficult to conduct business as usual at some of the company's facilities, including its first American car factory in Fremont, California, and battery plant outside of Reno, Nevada.
By September, officials at the Nevada Gigafactory were announcing new production records and praising workers' dedication during an all-hands meeting with staff.
