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$UBER founder Travis Kalanick says wheeled robots will likely outperform humanoids like $TSLA Optimus for industrial tasks such as transport and mining. He argues specialized robots designed for specific functions are far more efficient for large-scale operations.

Shay Boloor

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159,256 views • 5 months ago •via X (Twitter)

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Elon Musk says $TSLA Terafab will produce edge inference chips designed for Optimus and its vehicles. He expects humanoid robots to be produced at 10 to 100 times the volume of cars.

Elon Musk says $TSLA Terafab will produce edge inference chips designed for Optimus and its vehicles. He expects humanoid robots to be produced at 10 to 100 times the volume of cars.

Shay Boloor

106,139 views • 4 months ago

Walter Isaacson: "As excited as we may be about LLMs these days, that's nothing compared to what happens when millions of Optimus robots and self-driving cars come." In Tesla's earnings report yesterday, they said that preparations for their first large-scale Optimus factory will begin in Q2. That first-generation line at Fremont is designed for 1 million robots a year. Tesla is also preparing Giga Texas for a second-generation line, which is being designed for long-term annual production capacity of 10 million robots.

Walter Isaacson: "As excited as we may be about LLMs these days, that's nothing compared to what happens when millions of Optimus robots and self-driving cars come." In Tesla's earnings report yesterday, they said that preparations for their first large-scale Optimus factory will begin in Q2. That first-generation line at Fremont is designed for 1 million robots a year. Tesla is also preparing Giga Texas for a second-generation line, which is being designed for long-term annual production capacity of 10 million robots.

Sawyer Merritt

136,500 views • 3 months ago

Collaborating like an ant colony Blue Worm Robotics from Xi'an has released a wheeled humanoid robot solution for warehouse automation. The wheeled humanoid robots move freely and quickly among warehouse shelves and workstations, using their lifting bodies to move, transfer, and sort goods. The robots collaborate with each other, and multiple robots can even work together to assemble another robot. As the collaborative tasks become more complex, swarm intelligence will emerge.

Collaborating like an ant colony Blue Worm Robotics from Xi'an has released a wheeled humanoid robot solution for warehouse automation. The wheeled humanoid robots move freely and quickly among warehouse shelves and workstations, using their lifting bodies to move, transfer, and sort goods. The robots collaborate with each other, and multiple robots can even work together to assemble another robot. As the collaborative tasks become more complex, swarm intelligence will emerge.

CyberRobo

18,193 views • 6 months ago

NEW: Elon Musk introduces an army of Optimus robots, says people will be able to buy them to complete tasks. Epic. Musk then said attendees could walk up to the Optimus robots who would do things like serve drinks. "At scale, you should be able to buy an Optimus robot for $20,000 - $30,000." "It can walk your dog, mow your lawn, get the groceries, just be your friend."

NEW: Elon Musk introduces an army of Optimus robots, says people will be able to buy them to complete tasks. Epic. Musk then said attendees could walk up to the Optimus robots who would do things like serve drinks. "At scale, you should be able to buy an Optimus robot for $20,000 - $30,000." "It can walk your dog, mow your lawn, get the groceries, just be your friend."

Collin Rugg

9,369,113 views • 1 year ago

.travis kalanick on why specialized robots beat humanoids for real work: "I'm not anti-humanoid, I'm non-humanoid. There are tasks that are good for humanoids, low scale, high diversity, in human environments, humanoid all the way. But the minute you have a machine doing a high-scale task, we're no longer in humanoid land, we're in specialized robotics land." "There was a moment nine months ago where humanoids were the mega rage of all time. When your hairdresser says he's getting into the humanoid business, we know something's wrong." "If I had to make 1,000 pancakes an hour, I'd never have a humanoid do it, you'd need 100 humanoids going gg-gg-gg. It's like the humanoid Olympics in Beijing, they're doing the marathon and it's cool, but all I could think is, imagine if you put wheels on them. Would you ever put a humanoid in a car to drive it?" "High scale, repetitive tasks do not need to be in human form, and they won't be, because humans are meant to do lots of things at low scale."

.travis kalanick on why specialized robots beat humanoids for real work: "I'm not anti-humanoid, I'm non-humanoid. There are tasks that are good for humanoids, low scale, high diversity, in human environments, humanoid all the way. But the minute you have a machine doing a high-scale task, we're no longer in humanoid land, we're in specialized robotics land." "There was a moment nine months ago where humanoids were the mega rage of all time. When your hairdresser says he's getting into the humanoid business, we know something's wrong." "If I had to make 1,000 pancakes an hour, I'd never have a humanoid do it, you'd need 100 humanoids going gg-gg-gg. It's like the humanoid Olympics in Beijing, they're doing the marathon and it's cool, but all I could think is, imagine if you put wheels on them. Would you ever put a humanoid in a car to drive it?" "High scale, repetitive tasks do not need to be in human form, and they won't be, because humans are meant to do lots of things at low scale."

MTS

52,573 views • 22 days ago

FULL INTERVIEW: travis kalanick joins TBPN to discuss his new company Atoms, physical AI, Uber, and more: 01:18 - Why he's been building in stealth for 8 years 04:32 - Atoms and the future of physical AI 08:10 - Creating a culture of builders 12:05 - Lessons from Uber 24:30 - The vision for physical AI and robotics 31:15 - Why humans will be the main beneficiaries of AI 38:20 - Mining, autonomous robots, automation 47:05 - Why Travis moved to Texas

FULL INTERVIEW: travis kalanick joins TBPN to discuss his new company Atoms, physical AI, Uber, and more: 01:18 - Why he's been building in stealth for 8 years 04:32 - Atoms and the future of physical AI 08:10 - Creating a culture of builders 12:05 - Lessons from Uber 24:30 - The vision for physical AI and robotics 31:15 - Why humans will be the main beneficiaries of AI 38:20 - Mining, autonomous robots, automation 47:05 - Why Travis moved to Texas

TBPN

626,519 views • 5 months ago

NAVIAI-I3, a more robust humanoid robot, was launched by the Zhejiang Humanoid Robotics Innovation Center. Standing 1.8 meters tall, it can run like a human and walk on various terrains. This humanoid robot appears to be primarily designed for specialized industrial tasks, such as security patrols in underground parking lots. They previously launched the lightweight bipedal NVAI-2 and a wheeled humanoid robot. The bipedal robot is used in manufacturing operations, while the wheeled humanoid robot is used for unstructured, flexible tasks such as warehouse sorting, supermarket shelving, and office cleaning. We filmed this demonstration at the World Robot Conference; you can see it in the comments section.

NAVIAI-I3, a more robust humanoid robot, was launched by the Zhejiang Humanoid Robotics Innovation Center. Standing 1.8 meters tall, it can run like a human and walk on various terrains. This humanoid robot appears to be primarily designed for specialized industrial tasks, such as security patrols in underground parking lots. They previously launched the lightweight bipedal NVAI-2 and a wheeled humanoid robot. The bipedal robot is used in manufacturing operations, while the wheeled humanoid robot is used for unstructured, flexible tasks such as warehouse sorting, supermarket shelving, and office cleaning. We filmed this demonstration at the World Robot Conference; you can see it in the comments section.

CyberRobo

15,521 views • 9 months ago

Another humanoid robot store employee Shenzhen's DEXFORCE offers wheeled humanoid robots for instant retail services. These robots can operate equipment to retrieve food, heat meals in a microwave, and autonomously restock shelves. It's foreseeable that in the future, convenience stores like 7-11 and FamilyMart will deploy humanoid robot employees to serve customers, automating mundane tasks and streamlining operations.

Another humanoid robot store employee Shenzhen's DEXFORCE offers wheeled humanoid robots for instant retail services. These robots can operate equipment to retrieve food, heat meals in a microwave, and autonomously restock shelves. It's foreseeable that in the future, convenience stores like 7-11 and FamilyMart will deploy humanoid robot employees to serve customers, automating mundane tasks and streamlining operations.

CyberRobo

21,725 views • 6 months ago

Sam Altman says he’s excited about a future where signing up for ChatGPT’s highest tier gets you a free humanoid robot. ⦿ The mechanical engineering and AI for humanoids are quite hard but feel within grasp. ⦿ Making a billion humanoid robots will take a while; maybe the first million humanoid robots, built the old-fashioned way, will automate the entire robotics supply chain to enable faster scale. ⦿ The demand for humanoids will be far more than what we can handle with current supply chains. ⦿ Things we've tried to bring manufacturing back to the US have failed. AI & robotics is a potential solution.

Sam Altman says he’s excited about a future where signing up for ChatGPT’s highest tier gets you a free humanoid robot. ⦿ The mechanical engineering and AI for humanoids are quite hard but feel within grasp. ⦿ Making a billion humanoid robots will take a while; maybe the first million humanoid robots, built the old-fashioned way, will automate the entire robotics supply chain to enable faster scale. ⦿ The demand for humanoids will be far more than what we can handle with current supply chains. ⦿ Things we've tried to bring manufacturing back to the US have failed. AI & robotics is a potential solution.

The Humanoid Hub

82,099 views • 1 year ago

Another headless wheeled humanoid Shenzhen VLAI Robotics just released a pretty pragmatic humanoid robot called L1. I checked the price, starting at RMB 28,800($4,188). wheeled base + height-adjustable dual arms.Anyone can be built into a household assistant:fetching water, tidying up the kitchen and living room, doing laundry, and more. >Dual arms with 16 DOF, bionic-style structure, capable of relatively fine tasks like grasping and plug-in operations >Adjustable arm height (~70–160 cm), covering both tabletop and standing work >Differential-drive wheeled base, 100 kg payload, simple but well-suited for indoor use, supports working while moving >Open interfaces + teleoperation/data collection. L1 feels more like a development platform than a finished product Beyond household humanoids, developers can build specialized humanoid robots tailored to a wide range of scenarios,from scientific research and manufacturing to warehousing, retail, and caregiving... We’re already seeing quite a few robots in this form factor. While some are pushing toward full humanoids, this “less-human” approach might actually reach real-world deployment sooner. --- (Shenzhen truly is a home for humanoid robots,it seems as though a new humanoid robot company could spring into existence at any moment.）

Another headless wheeled humanoid Shenzhen VLAI Robotics just released a pretty pragmatic humanoid robot called L1. I checked the price, starting at RMB 28,800($4,188). wheeled base + height-adjustable dual arms.Anyone can be built into a household assistant:fetching water, tidying up the kitchen and living room, doing laundry, and more. >Dual arms with 16 DOF, bionic-style structure, capable of relatively fine tasks like grasping and plug-in operations >Adjustable arm height (~70–160 cm), covering both tabletop and standing work >Differential-drive wheeled base, 100 kg payload, simple but well-suited for indoor use, supports working while moving >Open interfaces + teleoperation/data collection. L1 feels more like a development platform than a finished product Beyond household humanoids, developers can build specialized humanoid robots tailored to a wide range of scenarios,from scientific research and manufacturing to warehousing, retail, and caregiving... We’re already seeing quite a few robots in this form factor. While some are pushing toward full humanoids, this “less-human” approach might actually reach real-world deployment sooner. --- (Shenzhen truly is a home for humanoid robots,it seems as though a new humanoid robot company could spring into existence at any moment.）

CyberRobo

38,700 views • 4 months ago

Elon Musk in new interview on how Tesla’s Optimus robot will learn more quickly: "What we're going to need to do is build a lot of robots and put them in a kind of like a "Optimus Academy" so they can do self-play in reality. We're actually building that out. We're gonna have at least 10,000 Optimus robots, maybe 20,000 or 30,000, that are doing self-play and testing different tasks. Tesla has quite a good reality generator. A physics-accurate reality generator that we made for the cars. We'll do the same things for the robots, and actually have done that for the robots. You can do millions of simulated robots in a simulated world, and you use the tens of thousands in the real world to close the simulation to reality gap.”

Elon Musk in new interview on how Tesla’s Optimus robot will learn more quickly: "What we're going to need to do is build a lot of robots and put them in a kind of like a "Optimus Academy" so they can do self-play in reality. We're actually building that out. We're gonna have at least 10,000 Optimus robots, maybe 20,000 or 30,000, that are doing self-play and testing different tasks. Tesla has quite a good reality generator. A physics-accurate reality generator that we made for the cars. We'll do the same things for the robots, and actually have done that for the robots. You can do millions of simulated robots in a simulated world, and you use the tens of thousands in the real world to close the simulation to reality gap.”

Sawyer Merritt

250,956 views • 6 months ago

Elon just dropped a MAJOR nugget on how Tesla is going to be training Optimus to do real world tasks. They are building an Optimus Academy, which is a large scale, dedicated real-world training facility to accelerate the development of Optimus. The Academy will deploy thousands of Optimus units, potentially 10,000 to 30,000 robots, in a controlled realistic environment where they perform self-play, experiment with tasks, iterate on behaviors, and continuously generate training data through trial and error. The Tesla bots will also run millions of simulations in Tesla’s high-fidelity physics-accurate engine, allowing Optimus to close the “sim-to-real gap” by using these real-world observations to refine and validate the simulations! “You’re actually highlighting an important limitation and difference from cars. We’ll soon have 10 million cars on the road. It’s hard to duplicate that massive training flywheel. For the robot, what we’re going to need to do is build a lot of robots and put them in kind of an Optimus Academy so they can do self-play in reality. We’re actually building that out. We can have at least 10,000 Optimus robots, maybe 20-30,000, that are doing self-play and testing different tasks. Tesla has quite a good reality generator, a physics-accurate reality generator, that we made for the cars. We’ll do the same thing for the robots. We actually have done that for the robots. So you have a few tens of thousands of humanoid robots doing different tasks. You can do millions of simulated robots in the simulated world. You use the tens of thousands of robots in the real world to close the simulation to reality gap. Close the sim-to-real gap.”

Elon just dropped a MAJOR nugget on how Tesla is going to be training Optimus to do real world tasks. They are building an Optimus Academy, which is a large scale, dedicated real-world training facility to accelerate the development of Optimus. The Academy will deploy thousands of Optimus units, potentially 10,000 to 30,000 robots, in a controlled realistic environment where they perform self-play, experiment with tasks, iterate on behaviors, and continuously generate training data through trial and error. The Tesla bots will also run millions of simulations in Tesla’s high-fidelity physics-accurate engine, allowing Optimus to close the “sim-to-real gap” by using these real-world observations to refine and validate the simulations! “You’re actually highlighting an important limitation and difference from cars. We’ll soon have 10 million cars on the road. It’s hard to duplicate that massive training flywheel. For the robot, what we’re going to need to do is build a lot of robots and put them in kind of an Optimus Academy so they can do self-play in reality. We’re actually building that out. We can have at least 10,000 Optimus robots, maybe 20-30,000, that are doing self-play and testing different tasks. Tesla has quite a good reality generator, a physics-accurate reality generator, that we made for the cars. We’ll do the same thing for the robots. We actually have done that for the robots. So you have a few tens of thousands of humanoid robots doing different tasks. You can do millions of simulated robots in the simulated world. You use the tens of thousands of robots in the real world to close the simulation to reality gap. Close the sim-to-real gap.”

Teslaconomics

42,563 views • 6 months ago

🚨 Tesla Cybercabs have been spotted in Austin with Starlink Minis attached FutureAzA says the setup could help provide backup connectivity, lower data costs, and support future Robotaxi fleet operations. At the same time, Tesla’s Lars Moravy confirmed the Cybercab achieves just 165 Wh/mi, making it Tesla’s most efficient vehicle ever. The more we learn about Cybercab, the more it looks like Tesla designed it from day one for large-scale Robotaxi operations. $TSLA

🚨 Tesla Cybercabs have been spotted in Austin with Starlink Minis attached FutureAzA says the setup could help provide backup connectivity, lower data costs, and support future Robotaxi fleet operations. At the same time, Tesla’s Lars Moravy confirmed the Cybercab achieves just 165 Wh/mi, making it Tesla’s most efficient vehicle ever. The more we learn about Cybercab, the more it looks like Tesla designed it from day one for large-scale Robotaxi operations. $TSLA

Herbert Ong

25,401 views • 2 months ago

A new member joins the European humanoid robot team. German company Agile Robotics has launched its first industrial humanoid robot, Agile One, featuring intuitive human-robot interaction, dexterous hands (for grasping small screws and touching the screen), and AI-driven operation trained in the real world. It performs tasks such as material collection, handling, picking and placing, loading and unloading machine tools, tool handling, and precision operations. The emergence of humanoid robots by industrial robot companies is a natural progression; they are designed for areas inaccessible to traditional robotic arms and industrial robots, extending operational systems and enhancing business collaboration capabilities. Agile One will be manufactured in Germany in early 2026 and deployed for on-site training at customers to enhance its AI model capabilities. Soon, Europe will enter its second wave of automation driven by intelligent technology.

A new member joins the European humanoid robot team. German company Agile Robotics has launched its first industrial humanoid robot, Agile One, featuring intuitive human-robot interaction, dexterous hands (for grasping small screws and touching the screen), and AI-driven operation trained in the real world. It performs tasks such as material collection, handling, picking and placing, loading and unloading machine tools, tool handling, and precision operations. The emergence of humanoid robots by industrial robot companies is a natural progression; they are designed for areas inaccessible to traditional robotic arms and industrial robots, extending operational systems and enhancing business collaboration capabilities. Agile One will be manufactured in Germany in early 2026 and deployed for on-site training at customers to enhance its AI model capabilities. Soon, Europe will enter its second wave of automation driven by intelligent technology.

CyberRobo

72,567 views • 8 months ago

500 humanoid robots replacing humans in high-voltage operations What does that look like? Steel against steel,instead of flesh and blood. This marks a turning point for China’s State Grid, shifting from human-based maintenance to autonomous operations. This year, State Grid announced plans to procure 8,500 embodied AI robots, with a total budget of RMB 6.8 billion (~$1 billion). These robots will be deployed across four major scenarios: power inspection, live-line operations, emergency response, and warehouse logistics,covering more than 600 specific task scenarios. Among them, humanoid robots for live-line operations are the most expensive and strategically critical: 500 units with a budget of RMB 2.5 billion (~$370 million). They will be deployed in distribution network live-line work and ultra-high-voltage (UHV) projects, replacing humans in high-risk tasks. Workers will transition into supervisory roles, ready to take over remotely when needed. As early as last year, State Grid had already validated the feasibility of humanoid robots for substation inspection. Tienkung can autonomously perform inspection tasks at a State Grid substation in Beijing. Of course, suppliers are not limited to X-Humanoid,players like Unitree, AGIBOT, DeepRobotics, UBTECH, and Fourier are all involved. These 500 humanoid robots will also collaborate with 5,000 inspection quadruped robots and 3,000 dual-arm wheeled robots for indoor substation maintenance,together forming an intelligent, automated, and collaborative network for autonomous grid operations. What does this change? According to State Grid, each embodied AI unit can save RMB 500,000 to 800,000 (~$70,000–$110,000) in annual labor costs, with a payback period of around 2–3 years. Inspection efficiency increases by 5x, fault response time is reduced by 60%, and power supply reliability improves by 0.5 percentage points. More importantly, over 90% of human exposure to high-risk operations can be eliminated, reducing safety incidents by 80%. At another level, for humanoid robot companies, the center of R&D and iteration is shifting to the customer site. Real-world physical interaction becomes the fastest feedback loop,accelerating innovation and evolution. And 8,500 units are just the beginning of scaled deployment. Based on current plans, embodied AI robots will cover 30% of key areas in State Grid by 2026, 80% of high-risk operation scenarios by 2027, and enable fully autonomous operations by 2030. The demand roadmap is clear: define use cases ->deploy at scale->improve models and robots->expand further. 8,500… 50,000… 100,000… But remember,power grids are just one part of China’s vast infrastructure system. The experience of autonomous robotic operations here can be replicated across other sectors, such as broader energy systems. That, in itself, is another story. P.S.The video shows Tienkung 1.0 autonomously performing substation inspection tasks (2025).

500 humanoid robots replacing humans in high-voltage operations What does that look like? Steel against steel,instead of flesh and blood. This marks a turning point for China’s State Grid, shifting from human-based maintenance to autonomous operations. This year, State Grid announced plans to procure 8,500 embodied AI robots, with a total budget of RMB 6.8 billion (~$1 billion). These robots will be deployed across four major scenarios: power inspection, live-line operations, emergency response, and warehouse logistics,covering more than 600 specific task scenarios. Among them, humanoid robots for live-line operations are the most expensive and strategically critical: 500 units with a budget of RMB 2.5 billion (~$370 million). They will be deployed in distribution network live-line work and ultra-high-voltage (UHV) projects, replacing humans in high-risk tasks. Workers will transition into supervisory roles, ready to take over remotely when needed. As early as last year, State Grid had already validated the feasibility of humanoid robots for substation inspection. Tienkung can autonomously perform inspection tasks at a State Grid substation in Beijing. Of course, suppliers are not limited to X-Humanoid,players like Unitree, AGIBOT, DeepRobotics, UBTECH, and Fourier are all involved. These 500 humanoid robots will also collaborate with 5,000 inspection quadruped robots and 3,000 dual-arm wheeled robots for indoor substation maintenance,together forming an intelligent, automated, and collaborative network for autonomous grid operations. What does this change? According to State Grid, each embodied AI unit can save RMB 500,000 to 800,000 (~$70,000–$110,000) in annual labor costs, with a payback period of around 2–3 years. Inspection efficiency increases by 5x, fault response time is reduced by 60%, and power supply reliability improves by 0.5 percentage points. More importantly, over 90% of human exposure to high-risk operations can be eliminated, reducing safety incidents by 80%. At another level, for humanoid robot companies, the center of R&D and iteration is shifting to the customer site. Real-world physical interaction becomes the fastest feedback loop,accelerating innovation and evolution. And 8,500 units are just the beginning of scaled deployment. Based on current plans, embodied AI robots will cover 30% of key areas in State Grid by 2026, 80% of high-risk operation scenarios by 2027, and enable fully autonomous operations by 2030. The demand roadmap is clear: define use cases ->deploy at scale->improve models and robots->expand further. 8,500… 50,000… 100,000… But remember,power grids are just one part of China’s vast infrastructure system. The experience of autonomous robotic operations here can be replicated across other sectors, such as broader energy systems. That, in itself, is another story. P.S.The video shows Tienkung 1.0 autonomously performing substation inspection tasks (2025).

CyberRobo

46,782 views • 3 months ago

Robots on solar farms! ☀️ These Luminous robots assist in constructing solar farms, minimizing the need for manual handling of heavy parts. To reduce transport damage, module manufacturers are now using a "vertically stacked" standard, but this makes automation more complex. But these robots can still handle them! 🦾 Since large-format modules are heavy and long, robotic arms must handle the weight, balance the load, and move safely while avoiding collisions and external forces like wind.

Robots on solar farms! ☀️ These Luminous robots assist in constructing solar farms, minimizing the need for manual handling of heavy parts. To reduce transport damage, module manufacturers are now using a "vertically stacked" standard, but this makes automation more complex. But these robots can still handle them! 🦾 Since large-format modules are heavy and long, robotic arms must handle the weight, balance the load, and move safely while avoiding collisions and external forces like wind.

Lukas Ziegler

21,731 views • 1 year ago

Elon Musk says that within the next ten years, money will completely disappear and you will own no money because there will be no need for it, as robots and AI will provide everything you need. Musk compares AI and robots to "a personal God" that will provide humans with everything they need, including food, housing, transportation, and entertainment. "If robots and AI are providing more goods and services than any human could possibly consume, what do you need money for in that case?"

Elon Musk says that within the next ten years, money will completely disappear and you will own no money because there will be no need for it, as robots and AI will provide everything you need. Musk compares AI and robots to "a personal God" that will provide humans with everything they need, including food, housing, transportation, and entertainment. "If robots and AI are providing more goods and services than any human could possibly consume, what do you need money for in that case?"

Shadow of Ezra

992,924 views • 19 days ago