There's much more to consider than a Tesla Bot uprising

Full size view of the Tesla Bot
(Image credit: Tesla)

Tesla founder Elon Musk is known for creating a boundary-pushing electric car brand, an underground tunnel-building company that also makes flamethrowers, and a rocket company that carries people and gear into space. 

If the controversial billionaire has his way, he'll soon add another title to that list next year. Musk slid a surprise announcement into the end of Tesla's annual AI Day event this year, and it's one that could make a lot of people nervous. 

Tesla is working on a humanoid robot, the prototype for which is coming in 2022. Dubbed Tesla Bot, it will use some of the tech that power's Tesla's semi-autonomous driving features.

Musk notes the Tesla Bot's purpose in life is to take over jobs that are dangerous and repetitive work, with the ultimate goal being to make physical labor a choice in the future. 

The Bot measures in at a human-like 5'8" and 125 pounds. Musk said the Tesla Bot is intended to be friendly, but just in case it turns against its human overlords, it has a top speed of 5 mph and is designed to not be extremely powerful.

You can watch the Tesla AI Day event below


Analysis: more to consider than a robot uprising

Perhaps more interesting than the robot itself is Musk’s view of the future of work. Assuming we can physically build a fleet of humanoid robots and avoid having them exterminate all of humanity, they could represent a massive shift in the types of work people need to do to survive. 

Musk believes that robots can replace jobs that are dangerous or repetitive, freeing those people to do other things, such as study and learn other skills. 

He also noted that he's in favor of universal basic income, but said it's not on the cards until robots are able to pick up the slack with menial tasks.

If Musk is right and robots do take over less desirable jobs, the bigger problem might be public education. 

People are going to be scared of losing jobs and may not understand the concept of a guaranteed income, and on the other side of that coin, a large portion of the United States is afraid of the socialism boogeyman, which may make them apprehensive of anything that distributes wealth to others in society. 

Finally, Hollywood has programmed many to live in fear of a future where robots walk among us, so there's no telling how receptive the public will be to this concept.

Chris Teague
Freelance Contributor

After working in the technology and software industry for several years, Chris began writing as a way to help people outside of that world understand the sometimes very technical work that goes on behind the scenes. With a lifelong love of all things automotive, Chris turned his attention to writing new vehicle reviews, detailing industry trends, and breaking news. Along the way, he earned an MBA with a focus on data analysis that has helped him gain a strong understanding of why the auto industry’s biggest companies make the decisions they do.

Read more
Tesla Model 3
Tesla promises more affordable EVs and could start its Robotaxi service in June – but I've heard this all before
Seve Jobs
Apple might be building a humanoid robot, and I truly hope it looks like Steve Jobs
With an AI android by her side, a young woman studies on a couch in her modern home, highlighting the benefits of artificial intelligence.
Will 2025 be humanoid robotics' breakout year? ChatGPT and Gemini have some fascinating thoughts
Unitree G1
Robot abuse is still the path to the future – even if I hate it
Xiaomi SU7
Xiaomi's EV is racing ahead of Tesla in China – and it's planning a global Model Y rival next
Google Gemini Robotics
Gemini just got physical and you should prepare for a robot revolution
Latest in Tech
Apple iPhone 16e
Which affordable phone wins the mid-range race: the iPhone 16e, Nothing 3a, or Samsung Galaxy A56? Our latest podcast tells all
The Apple MacBook Air next to the Dyson Supersonic R and new AMD GPU
ICYMI: the week's 7 biggest tech stories from the best tech at MWC to Apple's new iPads and MacBooks
A triptych image featuring the Bose Solo Soundbar 2, Nothing Phone 3a Pro and the Panasonic Lumix S1R II.
5 trailblazing tech reviews of the week: Nothing's stylish, affordable flagship and why you should buy AMD's new graphics card over Nvidia's
The best tech of MWC 2025 examples, including the Nothing Phone 3a Pro, the Nubia Flip 2, and the Lenovo Solar PC
Best of MWC 2025: the 10 top tech launches we tried on the show floor
Toy Fair 2025 Primal Hatch
The 7 best toys we saw at Toy Fair 2025, from a Lego boat to a hatching, robotic dinosaur
ICYMI
ICYMI: the 7 biggest tech stories of the week, from a next-gen Alexa to the new iPhone 16e
Latest in News
An image of the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra from a hands-on event
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra could resurrect an intriguing camera feature
Eurocom Raptor X18
At $15,000, this massive 256GB RAM laptop makes Apple's MacBook Pro look affordable, tiny and very, very slow
Cristin Milioti in Black Mirror season 7
Netflix launches trailer for Black Mirror season 7, giving us a look at its first-ever sequel episode and an unexpected returning character
A graphic of the PC Gaming Show
Get ready for a bounty of PC games on June 8, as the PC Gaming show is back
A close up of The Daily podcast from Pocket Casts' web page
‘Podcasting shouldn’t be locked behind walled gardens’: Pocket Casts slams Spotify and makes its web player free to all
A smartphone on a sofa showing the WhatsApp, Telegram and Signal apps
Forget AI – WhatsApp is planning a simple messages feature that could be its most useful upgrade in years