Elon Musk: Widely viewed humanoid robot demos are remote-controlled or scripted

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has challenged the common perception of humanoid robot capabilities, asserting that many widely circulated online videos are misleading.

Speaking during a conference call regarding the company's fiscal second-quarter 2026 earnings, Musk stated that these demonstrations are either scripted or remote-controlled. He emphasized that Tesla's own Optimus robot, now in production at the company's Fremont, California factory, is designed for genuine general-purpose application.

According to Musk, Optimus does not operate on pre-written programs but learns how to perform tasks by observing its environment. "Currently, there isn't a humanoid robot that can actually perform general tasks, and Optimus will be the first," Musk said.

He explained that the key to general capability in robots lies in scalability. Pre-programming every possible scenario is impractical. Instead, Optimus can analyze vast amounts of video data from Tesla's factory floor and the internet to practice and learn tasks, akin to a human worker.

Tesla's Fremont facility has previously been reported to have dismantled its Model S/X production line to make way for the mass production of Optimus humanoid robots.