Tesla showcased its Optimus robot at Art Basel Miami Beach over the weekend. The event, called The Future of Autonomy Visualized, featured Elon Musk’s Cybercab prototype and several humanoid robots. But a five-second video from the event has gone viral for unexpected reasons.
Robot Collapses After Knocking Over Water
According to Gizmodo, the video first appeared on Reddit’s r/teslamotors. It shows an Optimus robot knocking over several water bottles on a table before lifting its arms. The arms move in a way that looks like someone removing a VR headset. Then they fall heavily, hitting a water bottle that explodes and shoots water everywhere. After that, the robot goes lifeless and falls backward.
Many people online think an unseen person was controlling the robot remotely. This control method is called teleoperation. It has existed since at least the 1940s. The operator likely took off their headset before disconnecting, which caused the robot to collapse.
Questions About Optimus Autonomy Continue
This is not the first time Musk has faced questions about Optimus capabilities. In January 2024, Musk posted a video showing Optimus folding a shirt. But social media users spotted what looked like a human hand in the frame. The hand movements matched what the robot was doing.
Previous Events Showed Remote Control
At an October 2024 Los Angeles event, Optimus robots poured beers for guests. Tech evangelist Robert Scoble asked questions and learned the robots were teleoperated. Tesla has not responded to questions about whether someone operated Optimus remotely at the Miami event.
The Miami mishap is especially ironic given the event name. Building autonomous robots that work without human help is very difficult. Another video from Miami shows an Optimus robot handing out water. After someone takes their water and hands it back, the robot seems reluctant to set it down. This might relate to the viral collapse video.
Musk has said Tesla will produce 1 million humanoid robots by 2030. He predicts 1 billion humanoid robots worldwide by 2040. But nearly two years after the shirt-folding video, Optimus still cannot hand out water bottles autonomously. This raises questions about how quickly Tesla can deliver working humanoid robots.
