We didn’t learn much new from Tesla’s Robotaxi event last night, but one piece of information we were looking forward to was a little information on Optimus, Tesla’s humanoid robot. And we got some, but it’s maybe a little less flattering to Tesla than some might have liked.
After unveiling the Robotaxi/Cybercab and Robovan, Tesla CEO Elon Musk went on to give us a little bit of information on the Optimus humanoid robot that the company has been working on.
Musk mentioned “we started up with someone in a robot suit, and then we’ve progressed dramatically year after year” as several robots walked out in front of the crowd.
He referred to these as “your own personal R2D2 C3-PO,” and that in the long term, these robots would cost less than a car – specifically, ~$20k-$30k. A video also described them as an “autonomous assistant, humanoid friend” which could be used for basically any task you can think of.
Musk said that Optimus would be “the biggest product of any kind, ever” and figured everyone on Earth would want one or two of them, which is language he has used before (nevermind that most of the 8 billion people on Earth do not have the wealth to afford one new car, much less two). He also said that it would result in an “age of abundance” where the cost of everything would drop dramatically.
But beyond all that, Tesla took this event as an opportunity to debut Optimus in front of – and among – a live audience. Musk said:
One of the things we wanted to show tonight was that Optimus is not a canned video, it’s not walled-off. The Optimus robots will walk among you. Please be nice to the Optimus robots. So you’ll be able to walk right up to them… and they’ll serve drinks at the bar, and you’ll directly… I mean it’s a wild experience just to have humanoid robots and they’re there, just in front of you.
Tesla’s event stream continued by showing videos of the party, including some videos of guests interacting with robots. The robots waved, handed out goodie bags, served drinks, posed for photos, walked through the crowd, and even played rock paper scissors (though, again, not as well as this robot with a 100% winrate from 12 years ago).
The robots did all have a Tesla employee “minder” watching them closely, but visibly holding some sort of signaling device in their hand. In the video, you can see one of the employees operating this device.
The official Tesla video (which had no audio, as music was playing over it) also showed a few robots serving drinks, though these were not custom mixed drinks, merely two choices of pre-mixed drinks served from beer taps. The robots seemed to do so successfully enough, though they were somewhat wobbly while serving the drinks (see here), which seemed odd – as if the robots weren’t all that great at balancing themselves, or their motions weren’t properly damped or something.
But then, attendees started posting videos from the event, and something seemed… off.
But the stranger videos were of direct interactions with the Optimus robots that “walked among us” in the crowd.
It turns out the robots each had a voice and could be talked to. So, you could make a drink order, or even just have a conversation with the robots that were walking the crowd.
What Tesla is doing with Optimus is insane. It’s literally the robot from iRobot starring Will Smith. #WeRobotpic.twitter.com/zM9pkkyOCu
In conversation, the robots were impressively realistic in their conversational tone, responding quickly and with natural speech. We’ve seen some interesting developments in this respect from ChatGPT 4o, with natural intonation, but you can still tell that there’s something robotic going on there.
But perhaps they were too impressive, because these conversations certainly seem to have a human on the other side of them.
Each of the robots we’ve seen had a different voice, and a different accent – though mostly California or Texas accents, the two locations where Tesla has significant presence. One even reportedly spoke Spanish, impressing one attendee, though conversational Spanish is also not particularly uncommon in the areas where Tesla operates, so the employee behind the curtain could well just be bilingual.
This video, in particular, of a robot talking about the geography of the Bay Area, is a fun one. Not only does the robot make a very human error when it asks whether the attendee lives in the “Santa Clarita” area near San Jose (it’s Santa Clara – Santa Clarita is in Southern California, not the Bay Area), it also hears a non-standard pronunciation “Los Gatos” and then responds with a more common one.
One tech evangelist in attendance, Robert Scoble, says that he talked to an engineer at the event who told him that Optimus was running on AI while walking through the crowd, but that otherwise there was human remote assistance.
Indeed, most observers seem to think that these was some level of remote operation going on during the event. Even Adam Jonas, Morgan Stanley’s analyst who covers Tesla and is usually very bullish on everything that Tesla announces, said in a note this morning that: “It is our understanding that these robots were not operating entirely autonomously – but relied on tele-ops (human intervention) so it was more a demonstration of degrees of freedom and agility.”
The upshot of all of this is that Tesla, as is often the case, seems to be playing fast and loose with the truth.
While it may have reasonably impressive dexterity, and remote-operated robots could have some real uses (for example, putting remote-operated robots into dangerous situations where human-like limbs and manipulation would nevertheless be useful), Tesla instead decided to obscure the real information about the technology they were showcasing, suggesting that AI-driven robots would walk among the crowd when really they were relying on some amount of remote operation.
And that just leaves a bitter taste in everyone’s mouth – or at least, in the mouths of those whose information comes from somewhere other than the heavily curated twitter algorithm.
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Spring is here, and that means it’s pool season prep time! There’s no better way to kickstart your spring cleaning than with the Beatbot AquaSense 2 Series—the ultimate robotic cleaner designed to effortlessly prepare your pool for sunny days ahead.
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Beatbot AquaSense 2 Ultra
Headlining Beatbot AquaSense 2 Series is the premium AquaSense 2 Ultra, a pool-cleaning powerhouse that sets a new standard in smart cleaning technology. It’s packed with cutting-edge features designed to make your pool maintenance not only easier but smarter and more thorough than ever before.
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Toyota is now a battery supplier? That’s the plan. Honda will use Toyota’s batteries to power up its around 400,000 hybrids sold in the US.
Toyota will supply batteries for Honda hybrids in the US
Toyota’s $14 billion battery plant in North Carolina is ready for business. The facility will begin shipping out batteries next month, and it looks like Toyota already has its first customer.
According to a new Nikkei report, starting in fiscal 2025, Toyota will supply batteries for the roughly 400,000 Honda hybrids sold in the US.
Honda currently uses batteries from China and Japan for vehicles sold in the US, but the company is (like most) preparing for changes under Trump.
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Honda’s electrified vehicles, including EVs and hybrids, accounted for over a quarter of US sales last year. The company sold over 308,500 hybrids and 40,400 electric vehicles in the US in 2024. The batteries will likely be used in the CR-V and other Honda hybrid vehicles.
Honda Prologue Elite (Source: Honda)
Earlier this month, an extra 10% tariff on imports from China took effect. And that’s on top of the 10% imposed in February.
With more expected, including a 25% increase in vehicles imported from Japan, automakers are tightening up their supply chains.
Toyota’s new bZ4X AWD model introduced in Europe (Source: Toyota)
A 25% tariff on Japanese vehicles, up from 2.5% currently, is estimated to cost the six major Japanese automakers about $20 billion in the US.
Tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada could cost Honda roughly $4.7 billion alone. Teaming up with Toyota to use its batteries for its hybrids is part of Japan’s broader global plans to ween off dependence on China and others for batteries and other emerging tech.
(Source: Toyota)
The new US plant, Toyota Battery Manufacturing North Carolina (TBMC), is over seven million square feet, or about the size of 121 football fields.
As Toyota’s first in-house battery factory outside of Japan, the plant could be a game changer as Trump’s tariffs take effect. Securing Honda as a buyer will already help Toyota cut costs as it ramps up output.
Toyota plans to ramp up electrified vehicle (EV, PHEV, and hybrid) sales in North America from around 40% last year to 80% by 2030.
Electrek’s Take
Trump’s tariffs are already causing havoc, with nearly every automaker warning that they put the US further behind. Overseas automakers are not the only ones feeling the heat, either.
The “Big Three,” GM, Ford, and Jeep maker Stellantis all build vehicles in Canada and Mexico. GM cut output at its plant in Mexico in January, where the electric Chevy Equinox, Blazer, and Honda Prologue are made. Stellantis halted operations at its Brampton Assembly Plant in Canada last month, where it was expected to launch the Jeep Compass EV production. What’s next?
For Toyota, it looks like its $14 billion bet to build batteries in the US is already paying off. Now, we just need it to introduce more EVs.
After unveiling three new electric SUVs in Europe last week, including the updated bZ4X, Toyota hinted more is on the way for the US. Check back soon for updates.
What do you think? Do you want to see more Toyota EVs in the US, like the new C-HR+? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
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U.S. President Donald Trump looks on as military strikes are launched against Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis over the group’s attacks against Red Sea shipping, at an unspecified location in this handout image released March 15, 2025.
White House | Via Reuters
Oil prices rose on Monday after President Donald Trump said the U.S. would hold Iran responsible for any future attack by the Houthis, a militant group in Yemen that has launched missile strikes on commercial shipping in the Red Sea and on Israel.
U.S. crude oil futures rose 40 cents, or 0.6%, to $67.58 per barrel. Global benchmark Brent traded higher by 44 cents, or 0.62%, at $71.02 per barrel.
“Every shot fired by the Houthis will be looked upon, from this point forward, as being a shot fired from the weapons and leadership of IRAN,” Trump said in a post on social media platform Truth Social. “IRAN will be held responsible, and suffer the consequences, and those consequences will be dire!”
Trump’s threat comes after the U.S. launched a new wave of airstrikes against the Houthis over the weekend. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Sunday the U.S. campaign will continue until the militant group halts its attacks.
“This campaign is about freedom of navigation and restoring deterrence,” Hegseth told Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures.” “The minute the Houthis say we’ll stop shooting at your ships, we’ll stop shooting at your drones, this campaign will end. But until then, it will be unrelenting.”
The Houthis began targeting commercial shipping traversing the Red Sea in late 2023 in support of Hamas, after the Palestinian militant group launched a surprise attack on southern Israel and Israel responded with a ground and air campaign in Gaza. The Houthis and Hamas are both allied with Iran.
The Houthi missile strikes have forced international shipping companies to reroute container ships that would normally pass through the Red Sea and the Suez Canal.
Trump has reimposed a “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran with the goal of driving down the Islamic Republic’s oil exports. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent recently said the Trump administration’s goal is to collapse Iran’s economy.
The White House believes Iran is pursuing a nuclear weapon, an allegation the Islamic Republic denies. Trump’s national security advisor, Mike Waltz, said Sunday that “all options are on the table” to ensure Iran does not acquire a nuclear bomb.
“We cannot have a situation that would result in an arms race across the Middle East in terms of nuclear proliferation,” Waltz said on ABC’s “This Week.”