In October 2024, Tesla took another step toward turning science fiction into reality. With their “Wii Robot” event, they showcased Optimus—a humanoid robot that feels like it was pulled straight from Blade Runner. For years, we’ve seen industrial robots assembling cars and performing repetitive tasks, but Optimus is different. It’s designed to learn, adapt, and eventually take over jobs that humans do today.
Optimus: More Than Just a Machine
Tesla is not just making robots; they are making robots that think and improve over time. Optimus is already being tested in Tesla’s own factories, moving materials and handling repetitive tasks. Unlike traditional industrial robots built for a single function, Optimus is designed to be versatile. It learns as it works, just like Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) cars, which improve with every mile driven.
Elon Musk has been promising self-driving technology for years, and now, he claims that Tesla will launch fully unsupervised robo-taxis in Austin by June 2025. These autonomous vehicles will drive without human intervention, and the same AI technology will eventually power Optimus.
How Tesla Became an AI Company
At first, Tesla was just an electric car company. But over the years, it transformed into something much bigger: an AI powerhouse. It all started with the development of self-driving technology.
- 2014: Tesla introduced Autopilot 1.0, which helped with lane-keeping and speed adjustments but had no real intelligence.
- 2016: Autopilot 2.0 came with more cameras and data but still lacked the ability to learn.
- 2019: Tesla developed its own AI chip, making its self-driving system smarter and more predictive.
- 2021: Tesla removed radar sensors, relying solely on cameras and AI to drive—just like a human would.
- 2023: Tesla’s AI started learning on its own, rather than just following programmed instructions.
With all this experience in AI, building a humanoid robot was a natural next step.
The Rise of Optimus
Tesla first introduced Optimus at AI Day in 2021. At the time, it seemed like a joke—Musk even had a human in a robot costume dance on stage. But Tesla wasn’t joking. Within a year, the first Optimus prototype could stand and move. By 2023, it was walking, picking up objects, and performing simple tasks. In 2024, it officially started working in Tesla’s factories.
Now, Musk has laid out an ambitious timeline:
- 2025: Tesla will deploy 10,000 Optimus robots in its factories.
- 2026: Optimus will be sold to other companies.
- 2027: Mass production begins, with the goal of making millions of robots.
Musk believes Tesla could eventually manufacture 100 million robots per year. If that happens, it won’t just be another step in automation—it will be a complete transformation of human labor.
What Happens When Robots Do Everything?
For centuries, people have worked to survive. Farmers, builders, shopkeepers, and drivers—jobs have changed, but the need to work has always remained. If robots can do everything humans can do, but better and cheaper, what happens next?
Businesses will quickly realize that hiring a robot for $20,000 is cheaper than paying a human salary for a year. This could lead to massive job losses in industries like:
- Warehousing and logistics
- Retail and customer service
- Construction and manufacturing
- Healthcare and caregiving
As jobs disappear, society will face a huge challenge: how will people earn money? One proposed solution is Universal Basic Income (UBI)—a government-provided paycheck for everyone, regardless of employment. Even tech leaders like Jack Dorsey, Mark Zuckerberg, and Jeff Bezos have hinted that UBI may become necessary as automation takes over.
The Future: Utopia or Dystopia?
The real question isn’t whether robots will replace jobs—that’s inevitable. The question is: who controls the robots and who benefits from their work?
- In one future, robots provide abundance. They handle labor, giving people the freedom to create, explore, and live without financial stress.
- In another future, a handful of corporations own all the robots, concentrating wealth and power, leaving the rest of society struggling.
Science fiction has long warned us about AI rising against humanity, but what if it doesn’t need to? What if robots simply replace us, efficiently and quietly? The transition has already begun. Will it lead to a world of freedom or one where we watch from the sidelines as machines do everything?
The future is coming faster than we think. Are we ready for it?