Right this moment at Tesla’s “AI Day” occasion, Tesla CEO Elon Musk unveiled an early prototype of its Optimus humanoid robot, which emerged from behind a curtain, walked round, waved, and “raised the roof” with its fingers to the beat of techno music.

It was a dangerous reveal for the prototype, which appeared considerably unsteady on its ft. “Actually the primary time the robot has operated and not using a tether was on stage tonight,” stated Musk. Shortly afterward, three Tesla workers rolled a sleeker-looking Optimus mannequin supported by a stand onto the stage that would not but stand by itself. It waved and lifted its legs. Later, it slumped over whereas Musk spoke.

Your complete dwell robot demonstration lasted roughly seven minutes, and the agency additionally performed an indication video of the strolling Optimus prototype choosing up a field and placing it down, slowly watering a plant, and transferring steel elements in a factory-like setting—all whereas tethered to an overhead cable. The video additionally confirmed a 3D-rendered view of the world that represents what the Optimus robot can see.

Tesla first introduced its plans to constructed a humanoid robot throughout its AI Day occasion in August of final 12 months. Throughout that earlier occasion, a human wearing a spandex go well with resembling a robot and did the Charleston on stage, which prompted skepticism within the press.

On the AI Occasion in the present day, Musk and his group emphasised that the strolling prototype was an early demo developed in roughly six months utilizing “semi-off the shelf actuators,” and that the sleeker mannequin far more intently resembled the “Model 1” unit they wished to ship. He stated it will most likely have the ability to stroll in a couple of weeks.

Targets of the Optimus undertaking embody high-volume manufacturing (presumably “tens of millions of models bought,” stated Musk), low-cost (“most likely lower than $20,000”), and high-reliability. Evaluating the plans for Optimus to present humanoid robots from rivals, Musk additionally emphasised that the Optimus robot ought to have the brains-on-board to work autonomously, citing Tesla’s work with its automotive Autopilot system.

Shortly afterward, Musk handed over the stage to Tesla engineers that gave overviews about growing the facility methods, actuators, and joint mechanisms that will make Optimus attainable, replete with fancy graphs. “We’re carrying over most of our design expertise from the automobile to the robot,” stated one engineer, whereas one other engineer stated they drew a lot of their inspiration from human biology, particularly in joint design.

Earlier within the demonstration, Musk stated that they had been having the occasion to “persuade a number of the most proficient folks on this planet to return to Tesla and assist carry this to fruition.” Musk additionally emphasised the publicly-owned nature of Tesla a number of occasions, mentioning that if the general public would not like what Tesla is doing they may buy inventory and vote towards it. “If I’m going loopy, you may hearth me,” he stated.

After the two-and-a-half hour presentation, which additionally included prolonged updates on Tesla’s work with Autopilot AI, the Tesla group gathered on stage to provide detailed answered questions from the viewers for over an hour.

[This is a developing story and will be updated as new information comes in.]