(OPINION) Elon Musk has said that Earth will see approximately one billion humanoid robots by 2040. He supported the prediction made by David Holz, the founder of artificial intelligence lab Midjourney,
who said on social media that “we should be expecting a billion humanoid robots on earth in the 2040s and a hundred billion (mostly alien) robots throughout the solar system in the 2060s”.
Replying to this, Musk said “probably something like that, provided the foundations of civilization are stable”. Tesla, a company that Musk co-founded, has been actively involved in the development of robots.
In 2021, Tesla developed a prototype humanoid robot known as the Tesla Bot. Describing the robot’s future value, the billionaire said: “I think it has the potential to be more significant than the vehicle business over time.”
Musk said at an event in October 2022 that he hoped to make millions of robots, which would be priced at an estimated $20,000 per unit.
However, the Space X owner admitted that the robot was limited in its functions, joking that he did not want the robot to “fall on its face”.
“There’s still a lot of work to be done to refine Optimus,” Musk said at the time. Whilst acknowledging its current limitations, he said: “I think Optimus is going to be incredible in five or 10 years.”
He said that while making humanoid robots isn’t “directly in line with accelerating sustainable energy” as part of Tesla’s overarching goal, “I think the mission does somewhat broaden with the advent of Optimus to – you know, I don’t know: making the future awesome.”
In November 2023, Musk unveiled plans to implant microchips into the human brain, with recruitment beginning imminently.
Musk’s company Neuralink, which was founded in 2016, has called for applicants to participate in its Precise Robotically Implemented Brain Computer Interface (PRIME) Study.
