"Elon Musk took imaginary friends to a whole nother level": Online memes irrupt as fans compare Tesla's Optimus robots to I, Robot movie

Elon Musk previews upgraded Optimus robots (Image via X/@elonmusk/@Tesla_Optimus)
Elon Musk previews upgraded Optimus robots (Image via X/@elonmusk/@Tesla_Optimus)

Elon Musk's brainchild, Tesla Bots a.k.a. Optimus robots, had fans amused after they were revealed to the public on October 11, 2024. The tech advancements in the robot were previewed at the Cybercab Robotaxi presentation which was held in Burbank's Warner Bros. lot.

Apart from the unexpectedly fast improvements, Optimus robots also piqued the interest of netizens because of their resemblance with the humanoids from Will Smith's 2004 film, I, Robot. The similarities between fiction and reality had netizens in splits and sparked a meme fest on X.

Comparing Sonny and Optimus, an X user tweeted on how Musk's robot could be taking imaginary friendship to different levels:

"Elon musk took imaginary friends to a whole nother level."

Some others tuned into the meme fest and shared light-hearted jokes about the possibilities with Elon Musk's Optimus robots:

"My Tesla Robot mad at me b/c I made it camp out overnight for the new Air Jordan 43," tweeted one X user.
"Already have a problem with remembering faces. How will I be able to tell the robots apart? Don’t want them to get lost in a crowd," joked one user.
"I'm all in if it will answer my plethora of Spam calls," commented a netizen.
"IROBOT - we come in various colors," said an X user while tweeting a picture of the Terminator.

The memedom did not seem to be done with Elon Musk's Optimus robot as memes continued to flood on X:

"When they can do the laundry, clean the bathroom, empty the litter box and dust put my name on the list to buy one," said a netizen.
"I mean, we’ve seen Titanic but we still go on cruises," joked an X user while referring to the safety concerns of their fellows.
"Better than Sleepy Joe," tweeted another user.

Elon Musk's Optimus robot faces scrutiny because of design similarities with the 'I, Robot' film

Elon Musk's big reveal of the Optimus robot at the Cybercab Robotaxi presentation last week had the internet hyped up. However, the excitement soon turned into public scrutiny as netizens found the designs oddly similar to those in the 2004 film, I, Robot.

Musk's Optimus robot is defined as general-purpose humanoid automation and seemingly bears some resemblance to the NS5 robots from the I, Robot film. However, Optimus also seems to be a bit closer in resemblance to the robots portrayed in the 2021 animated film The Mitchells vs. the Machines.

Apart from the humanoid robot, Elon Musk also received critiques from netizens for the Robovan and Robotaxi previewed at the October 11 event in Burbank.

While the Robovan received internet flak for its immediate resemblance with the robot-delivery vehicles from the film, the Robotaxi was critiqued for having a similar design as the Audi RSQ that Will Smith drives in the 2004 film.

Optimus robots previewed at the Burbank event (Image via @Tesla/X)
Optimus robots previewed at the Burbank event (Image via @Tesla/X)

The heated allegations led to an unexpected turn of events on October 13, 2024, as the director of I, Robot, Alex Proyas took to X. In a short tweet paired with comparative images of the robots and vehicles from the movie, Alex asked Elon Musk if he could have the designs back.


Musk has yet to reply to Alex, but netizens seemed ready to take matters into their own hands. Responding to Alex's satirical remarks, netizens posted pictures from 1900s classics like Metropolis, Arta Deco era, and Duesenberg Coupe, hinting that the designs may not have originally belonged to him either.

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Edited by Apoorva Jujjavarapu