12:04, 23 Jul 2024 Elon Musk, the tech mogul behind Tesla, has revealed that the company is on track to deploy "genuinely useful" humanoid robots for internal use as early as next year. In a post on X, which Musk owns and was formerly known as Twitter, he shared Tesla's ambitions to ramp up production and start supplying these robots to other businesses by 2026. Tesla has been developing a humanoid robot named Optimus, intended for tasks in its factories and along production lines. "Tesla will have genuinely useful humanoid robots in low production for Tesla internal use next year and, hopefully, high production for other companies in 2026," Musk stated on his social media platform. Other companies, such as the American robotics firm Boston Dynamics, are also creating various robotic forms to assist with manual labour. When Tesla first unveiled its humanoid robot at a 2021 event, it was represented by a person in a white suit and black helmet mimicking robotic movements before breaking into dance. Subsequent updates on Optimus have been shared by Tesla, including a video from last year showcasing the robot carefully handling an egg without causing any damage. Musk has expressed caution regarding the design and application of humanoid robots in the past. He had a conversation with then-Prime Minister Rishi Sunak at the AI Safety Summit last year, where Musk emphasized the importance of having an emergency shut-off for humanoid robots, especially those capable of chasing you upstairs. The tech entrepreneur sounded the alarm during a chat, saying: "A humanoid robot can basically chase you anywhere. It's something we should be quite concerned about. If a robot can follow you anywhere, what if they get a software update one day, and they're not so friendly any more? " He also remarked that the UK "is in a strong position" regarding robot development, giving a nod to Dyson for its work. Top Stories