Elon Musk recently decided that Tesla is not a car company. It’s a robot company, and the cars are just there to pay the bills until people start spend unlimited money on bipedal robots. Basically, Musk has Tesla bets its future on this slow robot — and it looks like this robot is having a hard time keeping up with the competition.
In recent times World Robot Conference in BeijingCountless companies have sprung up with bots in tow. Robots make food, play musical instruments, and even challenge children to board games. Tesla, however, does none of that — instead, it leaves Optimus trapped behind glass.
Based on video from the event, the World Robot Conference appeared to be filled with various demos of robots showing off their capabilities. CNBC had a reporter on the show floor who backed up that interpretation:
While Chinese companies last week showed off humanoid robots that could play the zither or hold a drink, Tesla displayed its humanoid robot Optimus inside a transparent box, motionless next to its cars.
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Compared to last year, the number and types of demonstrations at the World Robot Conference have increased significantly, [Wei Cao, partner at robotics investment firm Lanchi Ventures] added that many students and teenagers also attended.
It’s unclear why Tesla decided not to do a demo, given how eager the company was to show off Optimus on social media. It’s easy to assume that the bot couldn’t compete on par with its competitors, but the answer isn’t necessarily that simple. Trade show logistics are complicated, and it’s entirely possible that setting up a demo simply wasn’t feasible in the time Tesla had to prepare. After all, it’s not like the company had Any kind of public relations department can handle these things..
