Tesla's Optimus Robots Raise Eyebrows Amid Human Control Speculation

During a recent Tesla event, Elon Musk showcased the Optimus humanoid robots, claiming they would transform society. Yet, attendees observed employees seemingly guiding the robots, raising concerns that the demonstrations were not entirely autonomous.

Tesla Unveils More Details About Optimus Robot

Following the introduction of Robovan and Robotaxi/Cybercab, Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, shared more details about the Optimus humanoid robot.

Per Electrek, not taking into consideration the fact that the majority of the world's 8 billion inhabitants cannot afford even one new automobile, let alone two, Musk claimed that Optimus would be "the biggest product of any kind, ever" and assumed that every person on the planet would desire one or two of them.

An "Age of Abundance" Promised by Musk

An "age of abundance" with drastically reduced prices for all goods and services would ensue, he added. Speaking about it, Musk said:

“One of the things we wanted to show tonight was that Optimus is not a canned video, it’s not walled-off. The Optimus robots will walk among you. Please be nice to the Optimus robots. So you’ll be able to walk right up to them… and they’ll serve drinks at the bar, and you’ll directly… I mean it’s a wild experience just to have humanoid robots and they’re there, just in front of you.”

He concluded his address by tossing a ball to a troupe of humanoid robots dancing in a gazebo (reminiscent of a Honda video from the '00s, to be exact...), and the audience could really get their hands on these robots.

Robots Controlled by Tesla Minders?

A "minder" from Tesla was there with each robot, keeping a careful eye on them while obviously holding a signalling device. One of the workers is shown using the gadget in the video.

Something didn't add up when people began sharing footage from the event online.

From a stage management standpoint, it makes sense to keep the event running on cue (albeit 40+ minutes late), and as Waymo's currently-operating Level 4 taxis also interface with the rider's phone to unlock the car and start a ride, so the widely-shared video of an employee seemingly triggering Musk's Robotaxi departure from a phone is understandable.

Footage Shows Human Control of Optimus Robots

Stranger still were the footage showing people interacting with the Optimus robots as they "walked among us" during the event.

As it turned out, the robots could all be spoken to. The robots that are circulating among the customers might take drink orders or perhaps strike up a conversation. There appears to be a human being having these discussions, so maybe they were too remarkable.

The robots we've encountered thus far all had unique voices and accents, although they tended to lean toward the regions where Tesla has a strong presence: California and Texas. One participant was apparently impressed by the fact that one of the employees spoke Spanish; however, conversational Spanish is also not uncommon in the regions where Tesla operates, so it is possible that the employee in question is just bilingual.

Engineer Confirms Remote Support for Optimus

While Optimus was navigating the crowd on AI, tech evangelist Robert Scoble spoke with an engineer who informed him that human remote support was also in place.

It appears that the majority of onlookers believe that the incident was being remotely operated in some way.

Analysts Raise Questions About Robot Autonomy

Adam Jonas, an analyst at Morgan Stanley who specializes in Tesla and is typically quite enthusiastic on all of the company's announcements, agreed:

“It is our understanding that these robots were not operating entirely autonomously – but relied on tele-ops (human intervention) so it was more a demonstration of degrees of freedom and agility."