Tesla share price plunges after Musk’s Optimus robot event puts too much ‘human’ in humanoid

21 Oct 2024

Tesla’s showing off its Optimus robot prototypes and introducing its Cybercab did not live up to the hype.

Tesla used humans to remotely control some capabilities of its Optimus robot prototypes at a recent event designed to generate investor enthusiasm for forthcoming products, according to people familiar with the matter.

Employees stationed elsewhere in the US oversaw many of the interactions between the humanoid machines and attendees of the “We, Robot” showcase on 10 October near Los Angeles, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing company operations. The Optimus prototypes were able to walk without external control using artificial intelligence, they said.

Tesla representatives didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

Some attendees said on social media afterwards that the robots had help, and at least one video purportedly from the event that was posted shows an Optimus bartender acknowledging that it was being “assisted by a human”.

This wasn’t stated by chief executive Elon Musk during his remarks in a webcast.

The use of human input raises questions about the capabilities and market readiness of the bot, which Musk said he expected to be “the biggest product ever of any kind”. He told the crowd it could eventually be available to consumers for between $20,000 and $30,000.

“What can it do?” Musk said. “It can be a teacher, babysit your kids, it can walk your dog, mow your lawn, get the groceries, just be your friend, serve drinks…”

Although Tesla had previously shown Optimus prototypes, this was the first time that people other than employees had a chance to interact directly with the black-and-white machines. They poured drinks for attendees, gave high-fives and even played the rock-paper-scissors game.

Robotaxi introduction

Originally, Optimus wasn’t due to feature in the event. Musk had requested its inclusion about three weeks before, according to a person familiar with the matter. The late notice meant there wasn’t time to get the software up to speed, making remote operation necessary, the person said.

Optimus was one of several products highlighted at the event, along with the Cybercab robotaxi and a van concept.

Guests at the invite-only launch took rides in autonomously driven vehicles, which were not controlled by humans.

The event, held on a movie studio lot, was broadly seen as underwhelming because of its lack of technical details and vagueness about the plans for the robotaxi business. The following day, Tesla’s shares suffered their worst decline in more than two months.

Musk had been due to discuss a wider range of autonomous driving-related items on stage, one of the people familiar with the planning said. But Musk either skipped over the material or removed it from the event.

Many of the attendees cited their interactions with Optimus as a standout feature of the Tesla showcase.

“Optimus stole the show in my view,” said Nancy Tengler, chief executive of Laffer Tengler Investments, in a note to clients afterwards. “Optimus paraded in and danced and looked remarkably human.”

Wedbush analyst Dan Ives called the soiree a “glimpse of the future”, saying in a write-up that the human-mimicking robot is “potentially much closer to a reality” than he thought heading into the evening.

Gene Munster, managing partner of growth investment firm Deepwater Asset Management, acknowledged the idea that Optimus was remotely controlled and said he’d been “fooled” at the event. Still, he said in a post on X, it gave a “window into the potential around these products”. Bloomberg/DM

This story first appeared in our weekly Daily Maverick 168 newspaper, which is available countrywide for R35.

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Robotaxi introduction