If there's one thing fans of the richest man and mad entrepreneur have been waiting for, it's a humanoid robot from Tesla. And that's exactly what the famed visionary has now unveiled. Ladies and gentlemen, this is Optimus. We know the price, and we know the launch date.

It's been talked about for a long time, speculated for a long time. Musk himself even "unveiled" a prototype, but it turned out to be just a figurehead in a costume. But now it was real. Elon Musk, the richest man on the planet, unveiled the latest prototype of a humanoid robot being developed by his electric car company Tesla.

Optimus appeared on stage at an event in Silicon Valley, where he waved to the audience, danced and demonstrated a walk. A slightly better performance than his previous colleague. The rest of the demonstrations were video-only. You can see the full footage here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXHoWNfjJYM

The CEO said that the robot is still a work in progress. However, it is said to be launched within a few years. Of course, we know how Musk's deadlines are... We should have been on Mars for years 😐

According to Tesla $TSLA-0.2% engineers, the mass-market robots will be tested on jobs in car factories. Which is also the primary purpose for which they should be used. As a worker. Of course, humans are evoked by the idea of a personal servant, as in the famous movie I, Robot. But that's not the plan yet.

To be honest, even as a fan of Musk and Tesla, I'm still quite skeptical. Even in the demonstrations, the robot didn't show anything fundamentally better than, say, the robots from Boston Dynamics, who have been performing similar stunts on the internet for some time now.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tF4DML7FIWk

But Musk is clearly relying again on his ability to get his product to people. He said the robots will be mass-produced, cost less than $20,000 and be available in three to five years. That's not true of the competition. Most importantly, Optimus has one big advantage over the competition. It has Musk at its back, who has already convinced millions of people to buy an electric car. And it also has some pretty solid financial clout 🤷

"It really is a fundamental transformation of civilization as we know it"

Musk declared during the presentation. He clearly believes in his project.

But some groups aren't entirely enthusiastic. There's a lot of skepticism online. Particularly from analysts who fear Tesla's focus on robotics, and have recommended it instead focus on projects closer to the company's core business - namely EVs. But what are we going to say - it's hard to expect an analyst to write that they're looking forward to Tesla pouring billions of dollars into an uncertain robot project that's been talked about for decades.

Artificial intelligence

It's not that hard to build a robot. From a hardware perspective, that is. Of course, the main thing is inside - the software, the artificial intelligence. And that's where Tesla is well ahead.

Musk (who, by the way, is still warning about AI as a threat to humanity), said Tesla wants to ensure that the transition to a society that uses robots as a reliable workforce is a safe one. Well, I guess everyone wants that.

"We always want to make sure we don't go the way of the Terminator," he warned, referring to the legendary film. I hope no one expected Musk to pass up such an opportunity 😁But it's true that some of the solutions look quite comical. Like when he added that Tesla is building in safeguards, including a stop button.

Apparently we have a lot to look forward to. Of course, as always, Musk must be taken with a grain of salt, because as it happens, his time estimates are not entirely realistic. Moreover, I fear that the real integration of robots into mass practice and industry so that they can be relied upon will be a matter of decades. Not units, as he claims.

How do you like Optimus?

Disclaimer: This is in no way an investment recommendation. It is purely my summary and analysis based on data from the internet and several other analyses. Investing in the financial markets is risky and everyone should invest based on their own decisions. I am just an amateur sharing my opinions.