Like the father of a newborn, Elon Musk has tremendous love for the Tesla Optimus robot. Ever since he greenlit such an ambitious project, Musk has been eager to share every major stage of development on the Tesla humanoid robot. Optimus can serve people popcorn, walk around with ease, and do a lot more gymnastics, but there’s always more to learn. Hence, Tesla’s engineers made Optimus learn Kung Fu and Musk was proud to share a demo video.
In a demonstration that marks a major leap for the humanoid bot, the latest version of Optimus is seen performing complex Kung Fu movements with a human instructor, demonstrating unseen levels of agility, balance, and real-time control. The short but amusing 36-second clip shows Optimus executing a series of coordinated martial arts moves, including bows, defensive stances, quick parries, and sidekicks.
What’s even more impressive is Optimus absorbing a physical push from the human instructor and fluidly adjusting its footing. It even hopped to maintain its balance and prevent falling down. Bravo!
Elon Musk shares video of Optimus doing Kung Fu
While the video is amusing, Musk quickly addressed a major concern – the robot’s move wasn’t choreographed! In a response to a X member, Musk said that the robot’s moves are “driven by AI, not tele-operated.”
This crucial detail signifies that the robot is running complex movements autonomously, relying on its internal AI and trained neural networks to coordinate its 23 articulated joints and body weight in real time. Such an ability to handle unexpected forces and maintain stability is a major milestone in the development of general-purpose humanoid robotics.
While Tesla’s Optimus is not intended for the martial arts arena, the demo shows that the robot could perform everyday complex tasks — from factory work to household chores. The company is reportedly working towards an annual production run-rate of one million units by 2030, with a planned market launch around 2026. With a potential price of approximately $19,000, having a robot that knows Kung Fu is going to be fun.
Netizens react to Optimus and Kung-Fu
With Optimus’ advanced robotics moves, the internet was quick to react with memes, with many questioning the future implications of a humanoid robot having the ability to have advanced self-defense measures. Check out some of the hilarious responses to Musk’s viral video.