Optimus robots danced on a lit-up stage and served drinks at Tesla’s robotaxi event

The prototype for Optimus was first revealed in September 2022.

Elon Musk may have unveiled the robotaxi on a Hollywood set on Thursday night — but it was Tesla’s Optimus robots that had the starring role.

After showing off the company’s Cybercab and its Robovan in a glitzy event at Warner Bros. movie studio in Los Angeles, Musk bought out several of Tesla’s humanoid robots to mingle.

His presentation ended with Optimus robots dancing on a lit-up stage — a reference to the initial unveiling of the bot in 2021, which saw a man in a skintight bodysuit designed to look like a robot, dancing onstage.

Videos and images posted on social media showed an Optimus robot in a bartender uniform pouring drinks and other robots interacting with attendees and posing for selfies.

Longtime tech evangelist and event attendee Robert Scoble wrote on X that the robot was not fully autonomous but rather operated remotely via telepresence. Scoble said a Tesla engineer confirmed this. Tesla did not respond to a request for comment when contacted by B-17.

Tesla investor Matthew Donegan-Ryan, who attended the event, told B-17 that he saw the Optimus robots pour drinks, hand out desserts, and interact with attendees.

“One of the things we wanted to show tonight was that Optimus is not a canned video, it’s not walled off,” said Musk during the Robotaxi unveiling.

“The Optimus robots will walk among you. Please be nice to the Optimus robots,” he added.

Tesla has previously released videos of the Optimus robot performing yoga stretches, picking up an egg, and squatting.

At the event, Musk said he expects the Optimus robot to cost $20,000 to $30,000 in the long term. The billionaire previously told Tesla investors that the company may be able to sell Optimus externally by the end of next year.