Thursday, January 27, 2022

In Which Ms Kaminska Seems Bemused By Elon's Robots (TSLA)

So she writes writes a mini- Tour de Force.

From FT Alphaville: 

Do Tesla robots dream of infinite planetary resources?
Robot slaves will have to compete with cheap human labour, not the other way around.

Elon first revealed Tesla’s plans to create robot helpers last August, in a theatrical display using, err, humans. Given the electric car maker’s notoriety for announcing products, only to see them delayed by up to half a decade, FT Alphaville thought it would be a while until the project got off the ground.

But on Tesla’s latest earnings call, following better than expected fourth quarter results, Elon said the most important development work this year will be on the robot -- christened “Optimus”. Cybertruck be damned.

JP Morgan’s analysts note Tesla’s pivot from carmaker to robot maker could have a significant impact on its wider automotive plans.

From a note out overnight:

This implies that the Roadster and Semi (originally slated for launch in 2020) and the Cybertruck (originally slated for launch in 2021) will be delayed until at least 2023, including as the firm prioritises development instead on a humanoid robot concept that will serve as an “incredible buddy like C3P0 or R2D2” with a personality that evolves to match its owner while also solving the economy’s labour shortage problem. The robot, dubbed “Optimus”....

......MUCH MORE, plus some interesting comments from the rabble. 

Follow-up: 

Michael Chrichton On How To Spot B.S. In Journalism and The Gell-Mann Amnesia Effect