Tesla Optimus masters household chores: New capabilities of humanoid robots demonstrated

Tesla has released a new video showcasing the capabilities of its humanoid robot, Optimus, in performing household tasks. The video, shared on the social media platform X, highlights the robot tackling everyday chores, opening up prospects for automating routine housework.

What Can Optimus Do?

In the video, Optimus confidently handles various tasks: cleaning rooms, washing dishes, ironing clothes, cooking food, and sorting trash. These actions demonstrate the robot’s potential as a versatile assistant capable of taking on a wide range of household responsibilities. Such capabilities make Optimus an attractive option for home use, freeing people from monotonous tasks.

Innovative Learning Approach

A key feature of Optimus’s latest development is its learning method. The robot mastered the demonstrated tasks through a single neural network that analyzed videos of humans performing similar activities. This approach significantly accelerated the learning process, bypassing the complex and time-consuming methods of traditional programming. In the future, Tesla plans to advance this technology by training the robot using videos from the internet, including footage captured from various angles.

Project History and Prospects

Optimus, also known as Tesla Bot, was first introduced at the “AI Day” event in August 2021, with the initial prototype unveiled in 2022. Tesla’s CEO, Elon Musk, believes Optimus could become a more significant project than the company’s automotive business. The robot is designed as a universal assistant for dangerous, repetitive, or tedious tasks. In 2025, Tesla plans to deploy Optimus in its electric vehicle factories, with sales to external customers targeted for 2026.

Technical Specifications

Optimus has a humanoid form, standing approximately 173 cm tall and weighing 57 kg. It is equipped with 40 electromechanical actuators, including 12 in the arms and 12 in the legs, enabling precise movements. The robot’s hands in production models feature 22 degrees of freedom, allowing it to perform complex tasks like object sorting or even playing the piano. Integrated sensors and an AI system derived from Tesla’s autopilot technology enable the robot to navigate environments and interact with people.

Challenges and Prospects

Despite impressive demonstrations, experts note that Optimus is still in the early stages of development. Some tasks in previous showcases relied on teleoperation, which drew criticism for lack of transparency. However, the shift to autonomous task execution through neural networks marks significant progress. Tesla continues to refine the robot to operate in complex environments and interact safely with humans.