Tesla's robot waves but can't walk, yet.

Musk plans to make millions of them

By Hyunjoo Jin - from https://www.reuters.com/technology

00:00

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept 30 (Reuters) - Tesla CEO Elon Musk showed off on
Friday a prototype of its humanoid robot 'Optimus', predicting the electric
vehicle maker would be able to produce millions and sell them for under
$20,000 - less than a third of the price of a Model Y.

Musk said he expected Tesla would be ready to take orders for the robot
in three to five years, and described an effort to develop the product over
a decade or more, the most detailed vision he has provided to date on a
business he has said could be bigger than Tesla's EV revenue.

Tesla's push to design and build mass-market robots that would also be
tested by working jobs in its factories sets it apart from other
manufacturers that have experimented with humanoid robots.

The eagerly awaited reveal of prototype robots at Tesla's office in Palo

Alto, California was also part of what Musk has described as an effort to
have Tesla seen as a leader in fields like artificial intelligence, not just a
company that makes "cool cars."

An experimental test robot that Tesla said was developed in February

walked out to wave at the crowd on Friday, and Tesla showed a video of it
doing simple tasks, such as watering plants, carrying boxes and lifting
metal bars at a production station at the company's California plant.
But a more streamlined current one, which Musk said was closer to what
he hoped to put into production, had to be rolled out on a platform and
did a slow wave to the crowd. Musk called it Optimus and said it would be
able to walk in a few weeks.

"There's still a lot of work to be done to refine Optimus and prove it,"
Musk said, adding later, "I think Optimus is going to be incredible in five or
10 years, like mind blowing."

He said existing humanoid robots are “missing a brain” – and the ability to
solve problems on their own. By contrast, he said, Optimus would be an
"extremely capable robot" that Tesla would aim to produce in the millions.

Other automakers, including Toyota Motor (7203.T) and Honda

Motor (7267.T), have developed humanoid robot prototypes capable of
doing complicated things like shooting a basketball, and production robots
from ABB and others are a mainstay of auto manufacturing.

But Tesla is alone in pushing the market opportunity for a mass-market

robot that could also be used in factory work.

The next-generation Tesla bot will use Tesla-designed components,

including a 2.3-kWh battery pack carried in its torso, a chip system and
actuators to drive its limbs. The robot is designed to weigh 73 kg.

Tesla engineers, who like Musk were all wearing black T-shirts with an
image of metallic robotic hands making a heart shape, described how they
developed the robot's features - including in areas like how the fingers
move - with a focus on making the cost of production lower.

"We are trying to follow the goal of fastest path to a useful robot that can
be made at volume," Musk said.

By developing a robotics business, Musk said, Tesla is shifting the terms of

a well-known mission statement that has become part of its appeal to
investors and climate activists by committing to "accelerate the world's
transition to sustainable energy."

"Optimus is not directly in line with accelerating sustainable energy,"

Musk said. "I think the mission does somewhat broaden with the advent
of Optimus to - you know, I don't know: making the future awesome."
1) Which statement is true according to the text?

A The humanoid robots are being designed only for domestic purposes.
B Robot Optimus´ main advantage is the use of sustainable energy.
C Elon Musk wants Tesla can be known as a leader in areas such as AI,
not only an electric vehicle maker.
D Toyota Motors and Honda Motor are Tesla partners in the development
of humanoid robots.
E Tesla´s experimental robot developed in February was able to shoot a
basketball.

2) The best translation for the sentence “He said existing humanoid robots are
“missing a brain”…” is:

A Ele disse que os robôs humanóides existentes não têm um cérebro …

B Ele disse que os robôs humanóides existentes sentem falta de um
cérebro …
C Ele disse que os robôs humanóides existentes perderam seus cérebros
…
D Ele disse que falta um cérebro nos robôs humanóides existentes …
E Ele disse que os robôs humanóides existentes com cérebro estão em
falta …