Musk Counters Tesla Bot Blowback With Video Asserting Progress

  • CEO is said to approve post showing Optimus on factory floor
  • Engineer acknowledges robotaxi event bots were human-assisted
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Tesla Inc. responded to blowback over its robots relying on remote human operators at an event last week with a video demonstrating the progress its prototypes are making in moving around on their own.

The less than 90-second video was posted on X, the social media network owned by Tesla Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk. It shows Tesla’s Optimus walking around a factory floor, locating and navigating to a charging dock, carrying around a tray of batteries and scaling stairs. It closes with clips of the robot handing out bottled drinks and bags of popcorn to what appear to be Tesla employees.