Updated Mon, Apr 11 2022 9:54 AM EDT Many people initially thought that the bot was little more than an AI recruitment tool for Tesla, but Musk said in January that the robot is actually a top priority for new product development this year. "I think it has the potential to be more significant than the vehicle business over time," Musk said of the robot at the time. The fact that he's now talking about production in 2023 suggests Optimus is indeed a serious endeavor. Tesla AI researcher and entrepreneur Gary Marcus told CNBC he'd be willing to make a bet that no robot will be able to do all human tasks by the end of 2023. "Tesla has not even (after years of effort) come close to reliably solving one relatively simple task (driving); to claim that a robot that has never been shown publicly will solve all of human tasks in the next year or two is preposterous," he said. "He can ship whatever he wants next year, since he is the boss, but there is no way that version one will come anywhere near his ambitions, if it is released that quickly." Musk is known for his showmanship, in which he announces that Tesla is working on exciting products scheduled for years into the future to energize backers including employees, customers, and investors. Often, products launches do not happen on the timeline predicted. For instance, at an "Autonomy Day" event in April 2019, Musk said the company would have 1 million autonomous "robotaxis" on the road in 2020. Those robotaxis are nowhere to be seen. And in October 2016, Musk held an event at Universal Studios' back lot in Los Angeles to show off a product he called the Solar Roof. The solar roof tiles on display turned out to be merely conceptual. — Additional reporting by CNBC's Kif Leswing.