Elon Musk unveils Tesla humanoid bot; netizens flood internet with terminator memes

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has bowled over his fans with his latest ‘unusual’ announcement about the launch of a humanoid robot, called the Tesla Bot, which the futuristic entrepreneur, known for several of his tech and space accomplishments, says will "eliminate dangerous, repetitive, and boring tasks.” Likely to launch next year, 2022, the 125 pounds and 5ft 8inch measuring humanoid bot prototype was unveiled in a white skintight suit with glossy black colour head and the Tesla logo designed on its chest in EV car manufacturer’s signature sleek design approach. 

Since unveiled, Musk’s humanoid robot has gained scads of commentary, as well as trolls comparing the machine with Autobots from the popular Hollywood flicks such as I, Robot (or, heaven forbid, The Terminator) that feature creepy human-designed robotic AI machines. Musk announced the upcoming launch of the "Tesla bot” expected next year Thursday evening at the company's AI Day event. Internet was bombarded with memes as fans compared Musk’s bot with C3-PO featured in Star Wars, Iron Man, and Baymax from Big Hero 6. It is being speculated that the machine might be customizable and can be made to wear a supreme box logo, Travis Scott Jordan 1s, or an iced-out Rolex. It is unclear if there will be more colours available. 

“It’s intended to be friendly, of course, and navigate through a world of humans, and eliminate dangerous, repetitive and boring tasks,” Musk told the AI event. 

Musk explains 'you can run away from it..'

"It's basically going to start dealing with work that is boring, repetitive and dangerous," explained Musk. The concept is five foot eight, weighs 57kg, and can deadlift 68kg, he added. Basically the enigmatic space and tech visionary introduced a model imitating robot, eerily dancing in a bodysuit modelled after the Tesla Bot. While it was easily a jaw-dropping moment, the grooving humanoid machine reminded the internet of the robot apocalypse as it left analysts baffled, and Musk’s followers head-scratching.

But the SpaceX and Tesla boss explained those worried about AI machine takeover of the world that at a physical level, “you can run away from it and most likely overpower it.” He quickly adds, "Hopefully that doesn't ever happen, but you never know.” 

A one time world’s richest man did not specify the date or a price that the bot would be sold. But he did add, that the Tesla bot will impact the economy by driving down wages, although, he said, "in the future, physical work will be a choice, but not right now because this robot doesn't work.” "Unfortunately, as we have seen with robotaxis and other future sci-fi projects for Musk, we view this Tesla Bot as an absolute head-scratcher that will further agitate investors at a time the Street is showing growing concern around rising EV competition and safety issues for Tesla,” said Managing Director and Senior Equity Research Analyst covering the Technology sector at Wedbush Securities, Daniel Ives, wrote in an analysis piece.