‘Running Robot’ Could Eliminate Poverty, Says Elon Musk

Tesla’s humanoid robot is now running, and Elon Musk says it could one day erase poverty.

Tesla last week shared a short video of its Optimus humanoid robot jogging across a lab floor, a first for the machine. The clip was first posted by the official Optimus account with the caption: “Just set a new PR in the lab.” Musk then reposted it on X, adding only two words: “Running robot.” 

Tesla’s VP of AI software, Ashok Elluswamy, also joined in, writing: “Run, Optimus, run!” The video highlights smoother balance, better coordination, and more natural motion than earlier demos, which mostly showed slow walking, object handling, and posture training.

A robot Musk says could change the economy

The running video isn’t the main story for Musk. He has been making a striking assertion of what Optimus could become.

Last month, the Tesla CEO said the robot could change the world economy in a major way and even remove the need for many traditional jobs. At a Washington forum, he predicted that within 10 to 20 years, work will be something people choose to do, not something required. Musk went further, claiming that “AI and humanoid robots will actually eliminate poverty.” 

Progress and personnel shifts

Beyond its new running ability, Optimus’s development has shown other advancements, including a recent demonstration of the robot performing martial arts moves alongside a professional trainer.

While the robot is still in the development phase, Tesla anticipates that mass production will begin soon. Musk has estimated that the unit cost of Optimus could eventually fall into a range of $20,000 to $30,000 once manufacturing reaches a large enough scale.

The Optimus project recently experienced a leadership change. Ashish Kumar, the former head of Optimus AI, left the company in September and reportedly joined Meta.

The robot’s accelerated progress and the ambitious claims being made for it — from performing intricate tasks to fundamentally reshaping the global economy — cement the Optimus project as a key focus for Tesla as it looks to expand beyond electric vehicles.

Geoffrey Hinton, the “godfather of AI” says the technology he helped create may soon come for a lot more jobs than people expect.

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