Tesla seeks redemption after Optimus controversy: “navigating by myself”

Tesla has released a new video of its Optimus bot walking autonomously. This comes after Optimus was revealed to be reportedly controlled by humans at the ‘We, Robot’ event.

The ‘We, Robot’ event showcased some of Tesla’s latest products, including the Cybercab and the Robovan. Alongside these innovations was the ‘new and improved’ Optimus robot.

Attendees were blown away by Optimus’ capabilities, as it could walk, move, and interact with eventgoers.

However, reports stating that Optimus was being remotely controlled by humans began spreading fast.

Now, Tesla has conveniently released a video titled ‘Navigating by myself’ on X, which shows Optimus confidently strutting around one of Tesla’s factories.

Navigating by myself pic.twitter.com/CeFSqCcy5I

undefined Tesla Optimus (@Tesla_Optimus) October 17, 2024

The video shows the bot autonomously navigating through unseen spaces. Tesla seems keen to emphasize Optimus's autonomous nature, with the word ‘autonomous’ prominently featured in the top left-hand corner of the screen at all times.

Optimus is capable of avoiding people and obstacles using “neural nets running on its computer. " It can also capture “visual cues specific to its environment,” which helps it understand its surroundings.

These robots can already perform factory-based tasks like picking up objects and placing them in boxes or containers.

This is shown in the video, with Optimus lifting a battery tray weighing 11 kilograms which it can carry autonomously without overheating, Tesla said.

Tesla claims that it trained Optimus’ artificial intelligence (AI) to interact with workers, react to unsafe behaviors, and hand over different items to humans.

Optimus busted at robotaxi event

Where was this at the Tesla ‘We, Robot’ event?

At the event, many people confirmed that Optimus was being operated by humans. However, this video seems to indicate that it can do many of the same things autonomously.

Something doesn’t add up.

The video left many X users questioning whether this was actually AI or whether Optimus was still being controlled by humans.

One user asked, “Is someone teleoperating when it’s handing out stuff to people?” Many of the replies said no, but some users were still skeptical.

However, users commended Tesla on the latest improvements to Optimus, with some users commenting on how Optimus is “growing up so fast” and others saying that this is the “best Optimus update yet.”