Tesla’s bot non-disclosure and why humanoid robots are taking off

Equity

At Tesla’s robotaxi reveal event last week, several Optimus humanoid robots mingled with guests, pouring drinks and cracking jokes. Impressive technology, but the vocals and some of the gesticulations appear to have been remotely controlled by humans, something Tesla did not disclose.

Today on Equity, Rebecca Bellan chatted with TechCrunch’s hardware editor Brian Heater about Tesla’s Optimus bots, the market opportunity for humanoid robots, and other companies that are leading the charge in this industry.

We'll dive into:

• A CBInsights report which found that funding in 2024 already reached new highs for humanoid robots and PitchBook data that suggests funding into humanoid robot companies has reached close to $1 billion as of October.
• Where we're most likely to see humanoid robot applications in the coming years. Automakers like BMW plan to deploy startup Figure’s robots at their plants, and Amazon, which has been a huge proponent of robotics for over a decade now, has tested Agility’s digit robot at its warehouses.
• When we could see humanoid robots enter homes. Some companies plan to have their robots help older folks with household tasks like Kind Humanoid.

Equity will be back on Friday with our weekly news roundup, so we'll talk to you then!

Equity is TechCrunch’s flagship podcast, produced by Theresa Loconsolo, and posts every Wednesday and Friday.

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Credits: Equity is produced by Theresa Loconsolo with editing by Kell. Bryce Durbin is our Illustrator. We'd also like to thank the audience development team and Henry Pickavet, who manages TechCrunch audio products.