At his last conference AI Day (in the day of artificial intelligence) Tesla hardly talked about cars. Instead, his moody boss, Elon Muskpresented a prototype… of a humanoid robot. Optimusthat’s the name of a model in development that Musk says will be intended to help Tesla’s production, but of course also to revolutionize robotics for all. Of course, like most of Elon Musk’s statements, these announcements should be taken with an industrial-format tweezer. Deciphering this apparently intriguing strategy.
Where is autonomous driving?
—Tesla (@Tesla) October 1, 2022
Two robot prototypes were presented at this famous conference in various stages of progress. The video shows them performing simple tasks: moving around, carrying a package, etc. But here it is, all well and good, but it does not meet the expectations of shareholders:Tesla shares fall 10% in a few days. Why? Because it’s been years since Elon Musk announced the imminent arrival of truly autonomous driving at Tesla. That’s why every software conference is eagerly awaited. gold, Tesla is no longer the leader in this sector : BMW, Cadillac and especially Mercedes went up.
Worse: some markets (including France) now allow it level 3 semi-autonomous driving. Without hands, without the attention of the driver, but under strictly defined conditions. In France, as in other European countries, you can now allow your car to fully control the authorized sections of the road (motorways, bypasses, ring roads, etc.). Therefore, Tesla is expected to turn around, given Musk’s very optimistic statements. But for now, only Mercedes can provide such a service. And Tesla, for his part,embroiled in controversy with American authorities, and is reducing the sensors on its new cars.
A diversion that does not pass
Stuck, therefore. But Elon Musk is a master in the art of subversion. Officially, the Optimus robot is “the future of Tesla”, it will be sold for $20,000, and will become the first mass-market robot. Except that other companies are much more advanced than Tesla on this (notably Hyundai-owned BostonRobotics), and that experts find Optimus very unconvincing. And given the reaction of the shareholders, this tenth little credible diversion does not pass…
Source: Auto Plus
Robert is an experienced journalist who has been covering the automobile industry for over a decade. He has a deep understanding of the latest technologies and trends in the industry and is known for his thorough and in-depth reporting.