At the Tesla Cybercab show, the Optimus robots were not as autonomous as presented

On 11 October, at the Tesla Cybercab event, Optimus robots were an important part of the show, interacting with guests, serving them drinks, playing games and even dancing. However, as it turns out, the robots were not fully autonomous.

Here's What We Know

Event attendee Robert Scoble learnt that humans remotely assisted the robots, while a Tesla engineer confirmed that the robots only used artificial intelligence to walk.

I talked with an engineer.

When it walked that is AI running Optimus.

It is real impressive they brought so many out in crowds at @tesla's event. https://t.co/CtmCKPrL4T

- Robert Scoble (@Scobleizer) October 11, 2024

Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas also noted that the robots relied on teleoperation, i.e. human intervention. This is supported by the fact that the robots had different voices and instant reactions with appropriate gesticulation.

Contributing author @secondbreakfastinvesting

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Tesla, apparently, though it tried to hide the fact that these robots are human-controlled from everyone, it still didn't quite succeed. Even one of the robots jokingly (or not) admitted to being assisted by a human. Thus, the event showed that Optimus robots have not yet achieved full autonomy and their capabilities were exaggerated for the show.

Source: The Verge