Tesla caught speeding up video of Optimus robots - probably to pass them off as "more capable"

The latest video featuring Tesla's humanoid robots wandering through the factory seemed to showcase progress in the development of Optimus — if not for one intriguing detail. The Gizmodo site pointed out that many of the clips were intentionally sped up (probably to make the Tesla robots appear "more capable").

Indeed, in the video, Optimus appeared to be a fully operational product: it roamed the factory floors, gathered boxes, climbed stairs, and even served drinks to guests at a bar. Notably, this skill was also demonstrated during the robotaxi presentation, but later, one attendee reported that a human engineer was allegedly controlling the robot remotely.

At the same time, Tesla utilized robots not only live but also in recordings — and the acceleration in the video was not even attempted to be concealed, as the upper right corner displayed speeds of X2-X10.

Navigating by myself pic.twitter.com/CeFSqCcy5I

— Tesla Optimus (@Tesla_Optimus) October 17, 2024

Moreover, this isn't the first time Tesla has been caught on a "minor deception" — back in January, Elon Musk shared a video on his page of Optimus folding a shirt, inadvertently revealing an engineer who was directing the robot's actions (Elon later acknowledged this after numerous comments).

Matt Novak from Gizmodo slowed down the latest clips of Optimus to real speed — you can see how much time the robot actually takes to carry a tray to the counter here. In my subjective opinion, the robot handles the task quite well (although it seems not as quickly as Tesla would like), but deceptive advertising could have been avoided.

• Elon Musk first announced the development of humanoid robots three years ago, while prototypes were revealed in October 2022 — one assembled model that barely moved and a model that stood on a pedestal and waved to the audience. Meanwhile, the promo that followed the presentation showed the robots walking more confidently and interacting with the environment.
• Last year, Tesla unveiled the Optimus Gen 2 version — "more human-like" with 11 degrees of freedom in its arms and tactile sensors on its fingers for manipulating objects. The robot is also 10% lighter and 30% faster than the previous iteration.
• In April, Musk stated that by the end of 2024, Optimus would start performing "useful tasks," and next year it may go on sale.