Elon Musk’s video of Optimus robot has everyone asking the same question

Optimus the humanoid robot walks across the floor (Screengrab from video uploaded to X by @elonmusk)

Elon Musk today shared a new video of Tesla’s humanoid robot, Optimus, but it has left some people with more questions than answers. Although the Tesla Robotics team has been sharing frequent updates on the robot, today’s video stands out for its low quality.

The grainy footage shows the humanoid robot walking the factory floor. Some viewers questioned the video’s low resolution but others were impressed to see Optimus walk unassisted for 1 minute and 18 seconds.

“Optimus strolling around the lab,” wrote Tesla CEO Elon Musk while sharing the video on his social media platform X, where it has been viewed over 10 million times.

Optimus strolling around the lab pic.twitter.com/E25ttHGsF0

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 24, 2024

“Did you take this video on a Nokia phone?” another asked. “It's pretty weird that this low quality video was uploaded on Optimus,” a third wrote.

Same photographer? pic.twitter.com/9ZvWzryXXC

— greg (@greg16676935420) February 24, 2024

Some pointed out the positives. “Confident. Turns smoothly. 132 steps in 78 seconds,” one X user said in response to the clip.

Tesla is adapting its autonomous car technology to give Optimus capabilities such as walking safely or working on a factory floor, company engineers said in 2022.

Elon Musk had last month shared a video of Optimus folding a shirt, before adding a disclaimer: "Important note: Optimus cannot yet do this autonomously, but certainly will be able to do this fully autonomously and in an arbitrary environment (won't require a fixed table with box that has only one shirt)."

The company is designing Optimus robots to be produced at high rates, pushing the price perhaps lower than $20,000, Musk had said at the time.

"This means a future of abundance; a future where there is no poverty, a future where you can have what you want in terms of products and services," Musk said.

(With inputs from AFP)