Optimus, Tesla’s humanoid robot, will be put to work at the American EV firm’s showrooms to attract customers and hopefully boost car sales by wowing potential buyers, according to Electrek, which quotes sources familiar with the matter.
As per the information provided by the sources, Tesla has already put the Optimus bot on display in some of its stores in China after observing that the human-like robot was getting a lot of attention at tech expos and conferences.
Last month, the Austin-based EV maker opened a new kind of showroom in Chengdu, China, called Giga Laboratory, which also aims to increase sales by impressing those coming in with the company’s manufacturing prowess. The immaculate-looking store features white cars, assembly robots, EV components, and the body of a Model 3 that hangs from the ceiling on some wires as if it were being manufactured on the spot.
Gallery: Tesla Giga Laboratory Store In Chengdu, China
Perfectly lit booths that act like pedestals for electric motors, inverters, and other components that have been developed and produced in-house by Tesla, and we believe that the Optimus robot will also get a spot in one of these glass booths, although Electrek doesn’t mention details about where and how the bot has been put on display in China.
Presumably, if the experiment goes well in Asia, the humanoid robot might also make an appearance in American Tesla stores to boost sales, but only time will tell if this is going to happen.
The Tesla Bot was rather awkwardly announced during the company’s AI Day event in 2021 when an actual human being pretended to be a humanoid robot and made robot moves and dance routines. As a result of the lackluster debut, many didn’t take it seriously.
Fast forward to May 2023, however, and the sketchy robot costume was nowhere to be seen. Instead, Tesla showed several working robot prototypes that could walk and pick up stuff without help, signaling that the Austin-based firm hasn’t been wasting time developing a machine that could potentially replace humans on the vehicle assembly lines doing repetitive tasks and ultimately act like a sort of personal butler, helping people in need around the house.
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