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Oh, Great: Elon Musk Wants Tesla To Build Humanoid Robots Now

Tesla’s autopilot features have always dreamed big, and Elon Musk’s latest hope for his car company’s artificial intelligence appears ready to grow ever closer to the uncanny valley with human-looking robots.

Reports emerged on Thursday that Elon Musk had declared Tesla should make robots now. You know, to help do boring stuff without human labor. As Business Insider detailed, Musk appeared onstage during Tesla’s AI event with a non-working prototype of what he hopes is the next great venture for the electric car company: Tesla Bot. But don’t worry, you can probably beat it in a fight?

Musk unveiled the “Tesla Bot,” a 5 ft. 8 in., 125-pound robot, at the event. He said the bot would have a screen where its face should be that will present information. According to the CEO, the humanoid robot will also be capable of dead-lifting 150 pounds and carrying about 45 pounds. Though, the bot will only travel about 5 miles per hour.

“We’re setting it such that it is at a mechanical level, at a physical level, that you can run away from it and most likely overpower it,” Musk quipped.

A teaser for the event showed a more “working” model of the bot, though it should be made very clear that it does not yet actually exist.

On Tesla’s AI section of its website, a section now includes an entry for the Tesla Bot and the company’s goals for the program. That bot, according to reports, will eventually be able to drive a Tesla as well.

Develop the next generation of automation, including a general purpose, bi-pedal, humanoid robot capable of performing tasks that are unsafe, repetitive or boring. We’re seeking mechanical, electrical, controls and software engineers to help us leverage our AI expertise beyond our vehicle fleet.

As The Verge detailed, the company has a long history of dreaming big and falling short with its ideas. So we’ll see if this is actually something that works or simply just another dream to add to the list. But if you’re wary of a future filled with humanoid robots slowly getting better at being human, Elon Musk is certainly trying to freak you out a bit here.

[via The Verge, BI]