Featured Image Credit: Tesla/Twitter/@WholeMarsBlog
Topics: Artificial Intelligence, Elon Musk, News, Technology, Tesla, Robotics
Niamh Shackleton
Topics: Artificial Intelligence, Elon Musk, News, Technology, Tesla, Robotics
From Ex Machina to I, Robot, there have been dozens of movies over the years about robots slowly taking over the world - but that isn't stopping Elon Musk from making them.
Last night (October 10), the tech mogul hosted an event at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, California, to debut Tesla's new Robotaxi - AKA the Cybercab.
Musk shared his version of the taxi cab several years ago and had initially promised to have fleets of the vehicles on the streets by 2020, but this was pushed back, Car and Driver reported.
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The innovative cars rely on Tesla's Full Self-Driving (FSD) software and, unlikely your typical car, it has no steering wheel or pedals.
Productions for these vehicles is expected to begin 'before 2027', as Musk himself put it.
But away from the Robotaxi was Tesla’s humanoid Optimus robots, which casually walked among those attending the event.
Musk has promised that the bots can do a range of tasks - from walking to the dog and watching the kids, to pouring you a drink and mowing the lawn.
He went on to hail his Optimus robots as 'the biggest product ever of any kind'.
Musk further bragged that the humanoid tech will be a 'fundamental transformation for civilization', as per The Verge.
Price range wise, you're looking at anything between $20,000 to $30,000 to get your hands on one (eventually).
During the event, people filmed their interactions with the dozens of Optimus robots roaming around and many have been left floored.
In one clip, one Optimus is see having a conversation with a man about where they both live.
Optimus is also asked what the hardest thing about being a robot is, to which it replied: "Urm, trying to be as human as you guys are. And that's something I try harder to do everyday and I hope that you all help us become that."
In another video, Optimus is seen sporting a cowboy hat and pouring guests at the event their drinks.
The bot then asks someone if they wanted to get a photo and flashed a peace sign as the party-goer took a selfie.
"This is insane," one person replied to the video.
"That is so wild," echoed someone else. "What got me is how naturally it responded when asked for a watermelon drink."
A third went on: "This is some Fallout type s**t. Incredible."
The future is here...