Humanoid robots or human connection? What Elon Musk’s Optimus reveals about our AI ambitions

Optimus is a general-purpose robotic humanoid under development by Tesla. Raman Shaunia/Shutterstock

When Elon Musk talks about robotics, he rarely hides the ambition behind the dream.

Tesla’s Optimus is pitched as an all-purpose humanoid robot that can do the heavy lifting on factory floors and free us from drudgery at home. Tesla is targeting a million of these robots in the next decade.

But is Musk likely to succeed? A few years ago, the thought of a friendly, capable household robot belonged in science fiction.