Tesla CEO Elon Musk unveiled new robot prototypes, including a self-driving robotaxi (Cybercab) and autonomous Robovan at the company's We, Robot event in LA on Thursday. However, the uncanny resemblance between his designs and that of the robots in the 2004 sci-fi film I, Robot did not go unnoticed.
Director Alex Proyas took to X to slam the mogul on Sunday, October 13:
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"Hey Elon, Can I have my designs back please? #ElonMusk #Elon_Musk."
The film, which nabbed an Oscar nomination, is set in a futuristic Chicago in 2035. Starring Will Smith, Bridget Moynahan, and Alan Tudyk, it looks at a world where androids eerily similar to humans run the world and abide by Isaac Asimov’s three laws of robotics that keep humans safe.
However, things take a dire turn when one of the highly intelligent robots named Sonny begins to run amok.
Elon Musk claims it's going to be a "glorious future," unveils robotic van and Optimus robot
Elon Musk revealed, at an invitation-only event, that they already produced 21 of the low two-seaters with a silver exterior and no steering wheels or pedals, and about 50 “autonomous” cars, waiting at the Warner Bros. studio in Burbank, California.
While no further details were announced, he revealed that they would retail for under $30,000, and would hopefully come out before 2027.
Per Deadline, the mogul also unveiled an Optimus robot. While initially thought to be unmanned, it was revealed that humans were tele-operating the bots in real time.
Furthermore, he revealed the Robovan, an electric, autonomous vehicle akin to a bus. Per Tech Crunch, it is designed to transport up to 20 people and goods at once in high-density areas.
Elon Musk also revealed that both the Cybercab and Robovan would equip inductive charging, which means that they needn't rely on plugging in, and could roll up to a station to recharge of its own accord. He said, per CNBC and Tech Crunch,
"We’re going to make this, and it’s going to look like that. ... It’s going to be a glorious future."
However, per CNBC, he also revealed that the company is gunning for “unsupervised FSD” come next year in Texas and California, in Tesla's Model 3 and Model Y electric vehicles. FSD stands for Full Self-Driving and refers to the company's driver assistance feature.
Currently, the premium system is up and running in a “supervised” version for Tesla electric vehicles, and it mandates that a driver be at the wheel, ready to take over if need be.
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