[Asia Economy New York=Special Correspondent Joselgina] Tesla CEO Elon Musk revealed that the company might attempt to produce humanoid robots next year.
According to the New York Times (NYT) and others on the 8th (local time), Musk stated at the opening ceremony of the 'Gigafactory Texas' in Austin, Texas, the previous evening, "We will attempt production of Optimus (Tesla's humanoid robot) Version 1 next year."
He described Optimus as "capable of doing any work that people do not want to do, bringing an 'era of abundance,'" and said, "It will change the world more significantly than Tesla cars." He also added, "People will become confident that it is safe as they watch the development process of Optimus."
Optimus uses the same semiconductors and sensors employed in Tesla electric vehicles' autonomous driving features. It is planned to be manufactured with a height of 173 cm, resembling a human.
However, there are many question marks about whether the humanoid robot will actually be released by next year as Musk mentioned. Local media pointed out that Musk's statements about new products have often been exaggerated compared to reality, and there have been many cases where production was delayed beyond the initial announcement.
On the same day, Musk announced that production of the electric pickup truck 'Cybertruck' would begin next year. This is also a product whose release has been continuously postponed.
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