Lifelike Tesla robot has conversation saying it wants to become more human

A lifelike Tesla robot has been filmed holding a conversation and saying it wants to learn how to be more human at the company’s marquee event.

Elon Musk unveiled the latest iteration of the humanoid Optimus robot on Thursday at Tesla’s We, Robot showcase in California.

Footage online appears to show an Optimus model talking to an attendee at the event and having a discussion about where it lives and where it was trained.

A man asked the machine what the hardest thing about being a robot is, to which the android replied: “Trying to learn how to be as human as you guys are. And that is something I try hard to do every day. I hope that you will help us become that.”

The conversation was so authentic that it prompted speculation online that the machine might have been controlled remotely by a human, instead of being powered by artificial intelligence.

The Telegraph has approached Tesla for comment.

Musk said at the event that Optimus would cost less than a car in the long term, and that it would be likely to cost between $US20,000 ($30,000) and $US30,000 to buy.

“Everything we have developed for our cars, it all actually applies to a humanoid robot,” the chief executive of Tesla said.

“It is just a robot with arms and legs instead of a robot with wheels.

“You could have your own personal R2-D2, C-3PO. I think at scale this would cost something like $US20,000 to $US30,000. Less than a car is my prediction, long term.

“It will take us a minute to get to the long term [but] it will be able to do anything you want.

“It can be a teacher, babysit your kids, walk your dog, mow your lawn, get the groceries, just be your friend, serve drinks. Whatever you can think of – it will do.”

Musk also predicted that Optimus, which bears an uncanny resemblance to the machines in I, Robot, the 2004 Hollywood blockbuster starring Will Smith, would be “the biggest product ever, of any kind”.

Tesla Bot Optimus at the Shanghai World Expo in July. Credit: VCG via Getty Images

The film is set in Chicago in 2035 where self-driving cars ferry people around. It is centred on a plot where rogue machines plan to enslave humanity. The inventor of the robots is killed by his own creation.

Musk, who was on stage with Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump last week, arrived at the event on Thursday in one of the 20 new Cybercabs.

These vehicles resemble current Tesla vehicles but are purpose-built robotaxis that are designed to be fully autonomous. They have no steering wheel or pedals inside the cabin, an experience Musk called “wild”.

The billionaire CEO presented a version of the future where autonomous cars work as a form of mass public transit that is cheaper than getting the bus. A Cybercab would also cost less than $US30,000 to buy, Musk said.

Tesla would begin fully autonomous, unsupervised testing of Tesla Model 3 and Model Ys next year in Texas and California, Musk said. The Cybercab would undergo this process in 2026.

And unlike other electric vehicles, the Cybercab will have no plug socket but will charge wirelessly with induction charging.

“It is really high time we did this,” the richest man in the world said. “It’s kind of trippy.”

Tesla also unveiled the Robovan, an autonomous vehicle that is larger than a cab and can carry up to 20 people and be used to transport goods.

“The Robovan is what is going to solve broad high density. If you want to take a sports team anywhere, then you can use the Robovan,” Musk said.

“We’re going to make this. Can you imagine going down the streets and you see that coming towards you? That would be sick.”

The Telegraph, London

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