Tesla chief Elon Musk said in a call with investors on Wednesday that his team is “on the cusp of something really tremendous” with Optimus, the humanoid robot that it’s been working on since 2021.
After launching the second version of Optimus in December 2023, the third version is expected to debut in the first quarter of next year, with Musk claiming it’ll be so advanced that it’ll “look like a person wearing a robot suit.”
Tesla is aiming to begin production of the Optimus robot this year, rapidly scaling to as many as a million units annually by the end of 2026 — significantly earlier than its original 2030 target date.
The Tesla CEO said that current challenges with its bipedal bot include achieving advanced, dexterous hand movement as well as setting up a completely new supply chain.
Musk has high hopes for the so-called “Tesla bot,” earlier claiming that it could become the company’s “biggest product ever,” and even drive more than 80% of Tesla’s value after sales begin.
He’s also said previously that “thousands” of the robots could one day be working alongside human personnel at Tesla factories, undertaking “dangerous, repetitive, [and] boring tasks.”
We last saw Optimus earlier this month in a video of it performing various kung-fu moves with remarkable speed and precision, and we’ve also seen the robot dancing and making dinner. While such talents are unlikely to be called upon in industrial settings, they do at least demonstrate advanced dexterity and coordination — skills that will indeed be useful in the workplace.
Whether Tesla can make a truly useful humanoid robot remains to be seen. But it’s also up against highly impressive competitors such as U.S.-based Boston Dynamics, Figure, and Apptronik, as well as Chinese firms like Unitree and LimX Dynamics.
One notable advantage that it does have is experience in scaling production quickly, along with auto factories where it can test and integrate the robot over time.
Nearly a month after announcing the GPT-6.1 Sol model, OpenAI unveiled GPT-6.1 Terra today. The latest addition to the family focuses on computer use, visual reasoning, coding, and professional work, while costing 50% less through the API than GPT-5.6 Terra.
OpenAI says Terra can handle everything from filling out browser forms and working inside spreadsheets to interpreting technical drawings and editing videos. The company says it can also complete computer-based tasks more than three times faster than GPT-6 Astra and GPT-6.1 Sol.
ASUS has started selling its UGen Intel Arc Pro B70 graphics card in Europe, bringing its take on Intel’s workstation GPU to customers with a hefty €1,799 recommended price. The card is available in Germany and Austria, while ASUS lists it at CHF 1,799 in Switzerland.
Intel first introduced the Arc Pro B70 in March 2026, with its own branded model starting at $949. ASUS’s version arrives several months later with the same core GPU architecture but a different cooling design and a higher power rating. The price also places it well above Intel’s original starting point, although the two prices are not directly comparable because ASUS’s European figure includes VAT.
Anthropic has officially filed to go public, and buried inside its S-1 is a blunt warning about the technology at the center of its business. The maker of Claude AI says advanced AI could cause everything from large-scale cyberattacks and geopolitical instability to catastrophic or even existential risks for humanity.
The warnings take up a surprisingly large part of the filing. Axios notes that more than 90 pages, or roughly a third of the prospectus, focus on risk factors. Many of them warn about what could happen as AI systems become more capable and autonomous.