The machine, with its mechanical joints and cables exposed, took a few steps on a stage at an event over the weekend and waved to the audience. Tesla is targeting a price below $20,000 for the robot, dubbed Optimus, and wants to build millions of them, Musk said.
The “Optimus” prototype moved much more awkwardly than the better-known humanoid robots from Boston Dynamics, which can run, dance and jump. However, Musk sees an advantage for the Tesla robot in the fact that it can use the technology of the “Autopilot” driver assistance system, which the company’s cars use, to recognize its surroundings. Videos showed how the 73-kilogram robot carries a box, waters flowers with a watering can and moves a metal component in Tesla’s car factory.
The group wants to develop a useful robot that can be built as quickly as possible, Musk emphasized. At the same time, Tesla was thinking about how to avoid a “Terminator” scenario, he said, referring to the killer robots from the film series. The machines should therefore have something like an off switch for emergencies.
Musk was convinced that robots could ensure “a future with plenty, a future without poverty” and spoke of a “fundamental transformation of civilization”. In the past, the tech billionaire had already predicted that the robot project could become more important than Tesla’s car production over time. At the “Optimus” announcement a year ago, Tesla put a human in a robot costume, which caused some ridicule at the time. This time, a newer metal-clad prototype was carried onto the stage by Tesla employees because it can’t walk on its own yet.
The pioneer Boston Dynamics, which in the meantime was part of Google, now also belongs to a car manufacturer: the South Korean Hyundai group.
Tesla also used the event to explain the technology behind “Autopilot” and its machine learning programs. A special focus was on how well the cars can recognize and understand their surroundings with the help of their eight cameras. Musk says he’s confident Tesla can handle autonomous driving with cameras alone, without the more expensive laser radars other robotic car tech developers are counting on.
160,000 Tesla customers in the USA are currently driving with a test version of the assistance software, which is intended to control the cars in city traffic, among other things, instead of just keeping them in lane and keeping their distance. The software often made a bad impression in videos from beta testers. Musk said that Tesla should be ready, at least technically, to introduce the test software in other countries by the end of the year. However, local regulatory requirements could delay launches outside of the US.
Weekly production in Grünheide at 2000 cars
a href=”https://www.finanzen.net/aktien/tesla-aktie”>Tesla has reached a weekly production of 2000 vehicles at the Grünheide plant near Berlin a good six months after the start. Of the electric carmanufacturer announced the brand on Twitter over the weekend. There was also a photo of employees next to a Tesla with the lettering “2000” stuck on it – as when the 1000 mark was reached in mid-June.
The plant, which opened in March, is Tesla boss’s only European factory Elon Musk. The company wants to produce 500,000 electric cars a year there with 12,000 employees. Production is still under construction. According to dpa information, the target for the first quarter of 2023 is 5,000 vehicles per week.
Tesla again with delivery record
Tesla hit the next record for deliveries in the past quarter – but at the same time missed even higher expectations from analysts. The company of tech billionaire Elon Musk brought 343,830 electric cars to buyers from July to September. The previous record was a good 310,000 in the first quarter of this year.
Tesla is currently expanding its production, among other things, the capacities are being increased in the two new plants in Grünheide near Berlin and in Texas. Production thus reached almost 365,923 electric cars in the past quarter – mostly from the volume models 3 and Y.
Analysts had expected 358,000 deliveries. In the announcement on Sunday, Tesla pointed out that it was difficult to secure transport capacities at a reasonable price, especially in the hot delivery phase at the end of the quarter.
A lot of attention is paid to Tesla’s delivery figures – because they are an indicator of how well the electric pioneer is doing against the increasing competition from established car companies in the business. The current question is to what extent inflation and concerns about the economy could slow down the market.
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