Geely’s Europe expansion continues, Argo robotaxis on the Lyft app and Tesla AI Day takeaways
TechCrunchNov 29, 2022
The Facts
On Tuesday night, Tesla unveiled a new version of its humanoid robot called the Optimus 2.0, also known as a Tesla Bot, posting a video of the robot doing a squat without falling over and picking up an egg without breaking it on X.
The new release follows a September update that showed Tesla’s earlier Optimus sorting different-colored objects and doing yoga stretches. Tesla CEO Elon Musk first revealed the Optimus robotics program in 2021, which was initially met with skepticism by some analysts.
The Spin
Narrative A
While the Musk-hating establishment mocked previous iterations of Tesla’s Optimus Bot, the newly unveiled Optimus 2.0 has silenced many critics by displaying Musk’s ingenuity. In just a short period, Tesla has vastly improved the bot’s size and functionality while showing the android performing various neat tricks. Musk is certainly a very ambitious man that most people cannot understand. However, his company continues to push boundaries, and it's not unthinkable that he could pull off creating a functional humanoid robot that can perform dangerous jobs currently performed by humans.
Narrative B
Elon Musk is back again with another strange Tesla brainchild, unveiling the disturbingly creepy Optimus 2.0 robot. The video of the robot cracking an egg and dancing is unsettling, to say the least, but it does show just how far madman Musk will go to replace Tesla’s workforce with robots. The Tesla Bot proved to be an embarrassment when it debuted last year, and while its successor has many improvements, it remains to be seen if it can fulfill Musk’s vision. Nonetheless, a “successful” robot could be the worst outcome for everyone — except for the billionaire and his henchmen.