Thursday evening’s “We, Robot” event might have been focused on Tesla’s robo-taxi, but the real headliner turned out to be the Optimus robot. Several of Tesla’s humanoid robots maneuvered confidently through the crowd at the Warner Bros. studio lot in Hollywood, seemingly on their own, without any visible attachments. Just a couple of years ago, this robot was barely able to step onto a stage unassisted. Fast forward to now, the latest version was interacting with attendees, playing simple games like rock-paper-scissors, or serving drinks from a tap, before casually flashing a peace sign with its robotic hand. “This will be the most important product ever created, of any kind,” said Tesla’s CEO during the event. The CEO wanted to offer a live demonstration of the robot’s latest advancements, avoiding pre-recorded videos from Tesla’s labs. “Optimus will soon walk among you. Be kind to them,” he joked, as the crowd watched.

Optimus Sparks Debate

While attendees enjoyed seeing the new robo-taxi and an unexpected debut of the larger Robovan, both autonomous vehicles have been showcased elsewhere. What truly set this event apart was the interaction with the Optimus robot—a machine that many believed was straight out of a sci-fi film. “It’s wild. I’m talking to a robot!” exclaimed John Stringer, a long-time Tesla fan. However, despite its seemingly autonomous nature, the robots were not displaying true artificial intelligence. They were actually controlled by humans operating them remotely using specialized suits that mapped their movements to the robots. “For now, I’m being guided by a human. Full autonomy isn’t here yet,” one of the robot’s operators explained when asked by an attendee. This situation reminded many of an earlier controversy when a video surfaced of Optimus folding a shirt. Observant viewers noticed the hand of an operator, pointing to the robot’s limited independence.

‘A Clever Demonstration, But Not the Real Thing’

Tesla has been training its robots with human-operated feedback suits, but at Thursday’s event, there was no mention of this. The robots appeared to be autonomous, with no explanation that they were essentially being remote-controlled. Entrepreneur Josh Wolfe noted on social media, “It’s impressive technology for remote-controlled robots, but misleading to suggest these are fully autonomous machines.” Tesla and its CEO have yet to address these concerns publicly. Optimus is not just another prototype. Musk has frequently touted it as Tesla’s most significant product in the pipeline. Back in June, he projected that one day Optimus could sell for around $20,000 per unit, cost half that to produce, and reach sales of 100 million units annually.

The Dream of a $25 Trillion Enterprise

Musk envisions that Optimus could generate up to $1 trillion in revenue per year. With his conservative business estimates, he believes the Optimus venture alone could eventually be worth $25 trillion. Tesla influencer Omar Qazi, who has close ties to the company, acknowledged that the robots were being operated by humans, but defended the achievement, stating that the mechanics of the robot were still an impressive technological feat, even without full AI control. “If you think teleoperated robots aren’t impressive, try building one yourself and have it walk through a busy crowd without causing any harm,” Qazi said. Others, however, including content creator Jeremy Judkins, were left disappointed by the lack of transparency. “I just wish Tesla had been more upfront at this event. There was no—none—indication that these robots were being controlled by humans,” he said.