- Elon Musk showcased Tesla's plans for a new humanoid robot on Thursday.
- The Tesla CEO presented a prototype of the robot — a human dancing in a skin-tight bodysuit.
- Musk says the real deal will have important implications for the way companies and individuals use and view labor.
- See more stories on Insider's business page.
Elon Musk may have plans for the Tesla Bot to revolutionize the labor economy, but for now, it's just an actor dancing wildly in a bodysuit.
Elon Musk unveiled a new robotics project, the Tesla Bot, during the company's AI event on Thursday. It will be built with Tesla's Autopilot technology in human form, Musk said.
In what was posed to be a dramatic unveiling of potentially game-changing artificial intelligence technology, the Tesla Bot's introduction to the world was casual and jokey. The presentation began with sleek close-up visuals of the robot's humanlike appearance, with the Tesla name emboldened on its chest. By the end, a real person dressed in a white bodysuit and black mask – nearly, but oddly identical to the look of the actual robot – walked onstage and started gyrating to EDM synth music.
The Tesla CEO, who watched from the sidelines for less than a minute, essentially cut the dance short and chuckled as he retook center stage.
"Unlike [the Dojo supercomputer], that was not real," Musk admitted nonchalantly, fully realizing the joke, "The Tesla Bot will be real."
Reuters
The robot, which will measure 5 ft. 8 in. and weigh only 125 pounds, is meant to outsource both menial and dangerous tasks. Musk, who has cautioned about the dangers of AI, touted the robot's intentional inferiority to humans, designed to be easily overpowered and outperformed by regular people. But he also noted how he wants it to reshape the economy.
"At the foundation, [the economy] is labor. So what happens if there was no shortage in labor?" Musk said, mentioning a possible future where "physical work will be a choice."
"It's why I think, long-term, there needs to be universal basic income," Musk casually added. "But not right now because this robot doesn't work."
Though this "prototype" may have been a man in costume, the company expects to have a working prototype in 2022.