Tesla’s Optimus, a humanoid robot stole the show at the ‘We, Robot’ event held in California, United States of America, on Thursday. Optimus robot was seen dancing, serving drinks, chatting with guests and even posing for a selfie. But what has now gone viral on social media is the interaction between Optimus and one of the guests.

In a one-minute-long video posted by the user @cb_doge on X (formerly Twitter), the guest says, “It’s insane. It is even talking.” After exchanging greetings, he says, “It is crazy, I am talking to a robot.”

During the casual conversation, the guest asks Optimus, “What is the hardest thing about being a robot?” And it said: “Trying to learn how to be as human as you guys are,” leaving the guest in splits.

“And that is something I try harder every day and hope that will help us become better,” it added.

Watch the conversation here:

A conversation between Tesla Optimus bot and a human is the best thing you’ll see on the internet today.

pic.twitter.com/2M9UJPTTLX

— DogeDesigner (@cb_doge) October 11, 2024

Another video shows Optimus knows how to have fun. Emmanuel Huna, X user and an architect and coder as per his bio, shared a video where he is seen playing “Rock, paper and scissors” with Optimus.

I just asked @Tesla Optimus to play rock, paper, scissors, and it did – check it out! pic.twitter.com/NrmEEA9R4M

— Emmanuel Huna (@ehuna) October 11, 2024

“It will basically do anything you want,” said Tesla CEO Elon Musk while introducing Optimus at the ‘We, Robot’ event. “It can be a teacher. It can babysit your kids, walk your dog, mow your lawn, get the groceries, just be your friend, and serve drinks. Whatever you can think of, it will do and it’s going to be awesome,” he added.

In a demo video displayed at the event, Optimus was seen picking up packages and doing household chores like watering plants, cleaning the kitchen top, unloading groceries, and playing with children.

pic.twitter.com/VK9vlGF0Ms

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 11, 2024

Tesla on Tuesday was cleared by a court in the 2019 fatal Model 3 crash that took place in Los Angeles, US, involving its advanced driver-assistance system, Autopilot. The case was filed by two passengers who accused the company of knowing Autopilot was defective when it sold the car. Tesla, on the other hand, argued that human error caused the crash. The court too found that the vehicle did not have a manufacturing defect. Now, Tesla chief Elon Musk also reacted to the news and expressed his belief that if Autopilot had been activated, the driver would likely have been saved.

“The irony is that if Autopilot had been turned on here, it would almost certainly have saved the driver,” Mr Musk wrote in on X (formerly Twitter). 

The irony is that if Autopilot had been turned on here, it would almost certainly have saved the driver

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 1, 2023

Micah Lee was killed in 2019 after their Model 3 veered off a highway, hit a tree, and caught fire. While Mr Lee was killed in the incident, his two passengers were injured. The two passengers then approached the court alleging that Autopilot caused the accident and demanded over $400 million in punitive damages. This trial was the first in the United States that alleged that Tesla’s autopilot feature led to death. 

Tesla, however, denied liability alleging that Mr Lee had consumed alcohol and that it was unclear if Autopilot was engaged during the crash. The Jury in Riverside County Superior Court also voted in favour of Mr Musk’s company, saying that the vehicle did not have a manufacturing defect. 

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This is a major victory for Tesla as it faces several other similar lawsuits across the country. But the automaker continues to test and roll out its Autopilot and more advanced Full Self-Driving (FSD) system, which Mr Musk has touted as crucial to his company’s future. 

Notably, the latest verdict represents Tesla’s second big win this year. The automaker won an earlier trial in Los Angeles in April with a strategy of saying that it tells drivers that its technology requires human monitoring, despite the “Autopilot” and “Full Self-Driving” names. The case was about an accident where a Model S swerved into the curb and injured its driver. 

The lawsuit accuses Tesla of repeatedly making false statements. (File)
| Photo Credit: REUTERS

In a victory for Tesla, a judge has ruled that a group of vehicle owners must pursue claims that the company misled about its Autopilot features in individual arbitration rather than court.

The ruling means Tesla will not have to face class action claims on behalf of much larger groups of vehicle owners.

US District Judge Haywood Gilliam in Oakland, California, in a decision issued on Saturday said four Tesla owners who filed a proposed class action last year had agreed to arbitrate any legal claims against the company when they accepted its terms and conditions while purchasing vehicles through a Tesla website.

A fifth plaintiff who did not sign an arbitration agreement waited too long to sue, Gilliam ruled in dismissing that plaintiffs’ claims.

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Tesla did not respond to requests for comment on Monday.

Andrew Kirtley, a lawyer for some of the plaintiffs, said he was prepared to file thousands of individual arbitration cases on behalf of Tesla customers.

“It is telling that Tesla doesn’t want to defend its marketing practices in public in open court but instead has fought to get as many of these claims as possible sent to private arbitration,” Kirtley said in an email.

The lawsuit accuses Tesla of repeatedly making false statements indicating that its advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) technology was on the verge of delivering fully self-driving vehicles.

The plaintiffs all said that they paid thousands of dollars to purchase the optional ADAS technology when they bought Tesla cars between 2017 and 2022.

But instead of delivering on its promises, Tesla’s technology has been unreliable and has led to accidents, injuries and deaths, the plaintiffs claimed.

Tesla has denied wrongdoing. The company moved to send the claims to arbitration, citing the plaintiffs’ acceptance of the arbitration agreement.

Gilliam on Saturday rejected claims by the plaintiffs that the agreements signed by four of the plaintiffs were unenforceable.

The decision came in the midst of the first U.S. trial over allegations that Tesla’s Autopilot feature led to a death because it was based on untested experimental technology that should not have been sold to the public.

The plaintiffs in that trial in California state court allege the Autopilot system caused a Model 3 to veer off a highway near Los Angeles at 65 mph (105 kph), strike a palm tree and burst into flames, killing the owner and injuring two passengers.

Tesla has said the accident was the result of driver error.

(Reporting by Daniel Wiessner in Albany, New York; Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi and Deepa Babington)