Chapter 152

Musk directs the design of Optimus, Tesla's humanoid robot, prioritizing human-like form and functionality. The team conducts detailed engineering sessions on hand dexterity, locomotion, and balance, while Musk emphasizes rapid prototyping and cost efficiency, ultimately planning a public AI Day 2 demonstration for September 2022.

In August 2021, Musk announces plans to build Optimus and tasks Franz von Holzhausen's design team with creating a humanoid robot that mimics human form to operate naturally in human-designed spaces. The team begins with the hand, studying how fingers interact with tools and deciding on five fingers with two joints each rather than three, elongating the pinky for improved functionality and adding a longer palm to reduce thumb strain. They explore various sensing methods for pressure detection, ultimately selecting current measurement through joint actuators to avoid adding extra parts. Musk attends weekly design meetings whenever possible, even dialing in from Kanye West's Miami listening party to discuss actuators and finger dexterity. Design discussions range from practical factory applications to speculative Mars scenarios, with von Holzhausen grounding the team's focus on real-world manufacturing tasks. Musk jokes about design decisions, references science fiction, and emphasizes safety protocols including a human override "stop command path" to prevent malicious robot control, citing Asimov's rules of robotics. He pushes the team to view Optimus as a business opportunity, believing it could exceed vehicle profits. Cost-benefit analyses drive decisions: three degrees of wrist freedom costs $1,103 per unit, prompting Musk to suggest repurposing cheaper car parts. Walking proves challenging; by April the robot walks while carrying boxes but struggles with arm-leg coordination and head movement. Musk brings toy robots to mid-July reviews for design inspiration. By July, Optimus successfully walks, picks up objects, and maintains balance against physical pressure. Musk announces a public demonstration called AI Day 2, scheduled for September 30, 2022, at Tesla's Palo Alto headquarters, featuring Optimus, Full Self-Driving, and Dojo as components of artificial general intelligence development.