Tesla’s Optimus Robot: โElon Musk โขPredicts a Post-Poverty Future
Tesla CEOโข elon Musk believes his company’s humanoid robot, Optimus, will spark an economicโค revolution capable of eradicatingโข poverty and usheringโฃ in an era of widespread high income. The bold claim came during Tesla’s recent shareholder meeting,where investorsโข also approved a possibly trillion-dollar compensation packageโ for Musk – one ofโฃ theโ largest in corporate history.
Musk stated that Optimus is the only path โto โขachieving universal prosperity, predicting the robot will dramatically โฃincrease global productivity. He โestimatesโ Optimus could multiply the size of the global economy by 10 โto 100 times, working 24/7 and achievingโค five times the annual output of โคa โhuman worker.
Originally โขunveiled as โคthe “Tesla Bot” inโ 2021 and now โin its “Optimusโข Gen2” iteration, โคthe robot has demonstrated increasingly elegant capabilities. Recent demonstrationsโค showcased its improved speed (30% โฃfaster walking) and dexterity,โฃ including tasks โlike โขsquatting and delicately handling โฃeggs.โ Public โappearances have includedโ handing outโ Halloween candy, performing kung fu withโ actor Jared Leto, and evenโค dancing on stage.
Musk envisions a future where work becomes “optional,” akinโค to a hobby like gardening, as AI and robots โคautomate all jobs. He even proposed unconventional applications, suchโ as using robots โto monitor individuals and โprevent crime,โค potentially replacing traditional โคimprisonment.
He anticipates Optimus willโ ultimately contribute 80% of Tesla’s future value, potentially increasing โthe company’s market capitalization โto $25 trillion. Tesla plans to deploy thousands of Optimus robots within its own factories thisโฃ year,scaling up to millions by 2030,with โa target productionโ of one million unitsโ annually. The robot isโ projectedโข to beโ soldโ for between $20,000 and $30,000.
Despiteโ his enterprising vision, Musk acknowledges challenges. Production is currentlyโ impactedโ byโ Chinese export restrictions onโข rare metals, prompting Tesla to seek โalternative sourcing. Some robotics experts, including former Tesla employees, question โฃthe efficiency of a human-shaped robot for โคindustrial tasks, favoring designs optimized for โฃrepetitive motions.
in aโ surprisingโฃ conclusion, Musk believes the capitalist development of โAI and โrobotics, if steered correctly, will ultimately lead to a “kind of communist utopia.” โขAcknowledging his “pathologically overly optimistic” outlook, he maintains that this future is closer than many realise.