Tesla to Launch Humanoid Robot Prototype This Year; Could Be Cheaper Than a Car in the Future, Elon Musk Says

Tesla chief Elon Musk has revealed some details about the company’s humanoid robot. Musk said in an essay that Tesla plans on launching the first prototype of a humanoid robot this year. The Tesla CEO also claimed in the essay that in a decade people will be gifting their parents a robot for their birthday. He further mentions that in the future these robots might cost cheaper than a car. Musk also talked briefly about his other ventures including SpaceX and Neuralink.

In an essay written for the China Cyberspace magazine, a publication of the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC), Tesla CEO Elon Musk has revealed some details about a bipedal humanoid robot. The English translation of the essay was posted by BeijingChannel via Substack. In the essay, Musk has highlighted that Tesla plans to unveil the first prototype of the humanoid robot this year, with the company aiming to improve intelligence of the robot and also providing a solution for large-scale production.

Musk claims that the usefulness of a humanoid robot will increase with time as production increases and costs fall. He also estimates that in the future a home robot could be more affordable than a car. The Tesla chief believes that people will start buying a robot for their parents as a birthday gift in less than a decade.

The company is looking at harnessing the “power of robots” by creating an abundance of goods and services, Musk writes. “Perhaps the only scarcity that will exist in the future is for us to create ourselves as humans (translated),” he added. He also called today’s cars “smart, web-connected robots on wheels”.

Tesla CEO also briefly talked about his other ventures, SpaceX and Neuralink. He said that Neuralink’s brain-machine interface will aim at curing brain injuries in the coming years. It could help restore sensory and motor functions for patients with spinal injuries and mental disorders. He also mentions the possibility of quadriplegics to operate desktops and smartphones using their brains.

While talking about SpaceX, which was founded with the intention of making interplanetary travel for commoners feasible, Musk said that the company plans to build at least 1,000 Starships to send groups of pioneers to Mars to create a “self-sustaining city”. He also highlighted that SpaceX has successfully reused 79 rockets to deliver cargo this year. He also said that electrification of rockets could be more difficult, but the propellant of the rockets could be manufactured from sustainable energy sources.