Musk's "Optimus" robot: Still relies on remote control, dexterous hands are extremely difficult, even insiders question its practicality

Musk has staked Tesla's future and his personal wealth on the grand vision of the humanoid robot "Optimus," claiming the product will bring the company "infinite" revenue and may become "the biggest product ever."

However, according to the Wall Street Journal, there remains a significant gap between reality and the societal transformation Musk imagines. In public demonstrations, Optimus often relies on remote control by engineers and faces serious technical challenges in simulating human hand dexterity.

In recent high-profile demonstration events, the performance of the Optimus robot was not fully autonomous. Media reports say that at the Warner Bros. Studios event in October 2024, while some robots performed choreographed dances, those interacting with guests and serving drinks were actually remotely operated backstage by engineers wearing motion capture suits and virtual reality headsets. This "human-machine collaboration" shows that to achieve Musk's vision of fully replacing human labor, Optimus still has huge technological hurdles to overcome.

The backdrop of this strategic shift is pressure on Tesla's core business. The company reported on Friday that full-year car sales in 2025 will fall by 9%, and fourth quarter sales dropped by 16%, with annual sales lagging behind China's BYD. As electric vehicle sales slow, Musk is trying to rekindle investor confidence by pivoting toward Robotaxi and humanoid robots. Musk's new compensation scheme sets the goal of Tesla reaching a $8.5 trillion market capitalization and selling at least 1 million robots within ten years.

Although the capital markets remain focused on the long-term prospects of the robotics industry, there are differing views on Optimus's utility within Tesla and among industry experts. On the one hand, engineers face bottlenecks in creating mechanical hands with human-like perception and dexterity; on the other hand, some internal staff question whether humanoid robots are really more efficient than purpose-built automation devices in routine factory operations.

Remote Control and the "Backstage" Reality

Although Optimus has become a regular feature at Tesla events, even making an appearance at the Hollywood premiere of "Tron: Ares," behind the glitzy demos, the project remains in a phase highly dependent on human assistance.

According to sources speaking to the Wall Street Journal, every robot interacting with people at last year’s demo required several engineers for real-time monitoring and operation: one engineer remotely controlling with wearable equipment, one monitoring via laptop, with others on-site to ensure the robots' physical stability. At Tesla's engineering headquarters in Palo Alto, although the robots often walk around the office to collect navigation data, according to former employees, when a robot falls, engineers still need to use lifting devices to help it up.

This "remote control" mode showcases future possibilities, but also exposes current limitations in autonomy. Ken Goldberg, a robotics expert at UC Berkeley, points out that as Musk says, making mechanical hands is indeed hard—not just the structure, but also the control systems, environmental perception, and compensation for uncertainty. Enabling robots to perform "useful" tasks is at the cutting edge of current research.

Dexterity Bottlenecks and Internal Utility Disputes

Inside Tesla's labs, Optimus is practicing mechanical tasks such as sorting Lego bricks and folding clothes. However, giving a robot the dexterity and environmental understanding needed to clear a table like a human remains extraordinarily challenging.

In addition to technological hurdles, there are differing views within Tesla on the business logic of humanoid robots. According to a former manufacturing engineer, while Optimus can handle single carrying tasks, in most factory settings, purpose-built non-humanoid robots may be more efficient for specific jobs.

Evan Beard, CEO of competitor Standard Bots, notes that for factories, warehouses, or agricultural scenarios, "legs" are often less practical than "wheels." He believes wheeled robots are more stable and safer, while bipedal robots have a built-in instability in power outages and carry the risk of collapsing and injuring people. Nevertheless, Musk insists on a humanoid design, arguing that this allows robots to adapt to environments built for humans.

Market Valuation and Analysts' Cautious Attitude

Musk's blueprint for Tesla is ambitious, aiming to escape the label of a pure electric vehicle manufacturer by moving into robotics. Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas believes that cars for Tesla are like books for Amazon—just a springboard into other fields. Jonas predicts that by 2050, the global humanoid robot industry will have annual revenue of $7.5 trillion, and if Tesla can seize a share, its income will see huge growth.

However, as the industry is still in its infancy, some analysts exclude Optimus from their valuation models. Even Tesla's long-term bull ARK Invest, although projecting Tesla's stock to rise to $2,600, has not included Optimus in its financial models for 2029, reasoning that commercialization may take much longer for the product to mature. ARK Invest director Tasha Keeney says initial editions of the robot may have very limited capabilities.

Currently, Tesla has postponed its initial timetable to deploy Optimus in its own factories and is developing a third-generation robot. Although Musk has marketed Optimus as a household "domestic helper" capable of handling chores, likening it to C-3PO or R2-D2 from Star Wars, to turn this "largest product ever" into reality and generate profit, Tesla will still need real breakthroughs in shedding manual control and boosting engineering utility.

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