Tesla shows off the latest capabilities of its robot, Optimus
Tesla
Tesla's venture into the realm of humanoid robots, represented by Optimus, has taken colossal strides since its inception. Remember the first "robot" that was a person dressed up? Or the second one that was barely able to move? Initially met with skepticism due to a less-than-stellar unveiling, the latest updates showcase Optimus' ability to autonomously sort objects and move around — specifically doing yoga and revealing Elon Musk's vision inching closer to reality.
From Skepticism to Anticipation
Initially introduced at AI Day 2021, Optimus — or Tesla Bot — came off as a half-baked concept featuring a dancer in a robot suit, sparking doubts across the spectrum. The journey from a man in a suit and a CGI trailer to working prototypes in AI Day 2022 reflects Tesla's unwavering dedication to innovation. The skeptics have served a stark reminder: Tesla's capability for rapid advancement is unparalleled.
Recent demonstrations depict a more refined Optimus, exhibiting fluid movements, advanced balancing capabilities, autonomous task execution, and even dealing with an annoying human who keeps messing with the blocks! These advancements indicate Tesla's relentless progress in neural network training, ensuring that Optimus can interact autonomously and adapt efficiently to real-world scenarios.
Autonomous Learning, Adaptation & Safety
Autonomous sorting and self-calibration are indicative of the significant leaps made by Optimus. The robot's ability to learn, correct, and adapt showcases a future where monotonous, repetitive tasks are relegated to the past, allowing humanity to explore uncharted territories of creativity and innovation.
Safety remains paramount as Musk emphasizes the necessity for local safety maximization, highlighting the commitment to integrating Optimus seamlessly and safely into society. The promise of a centralized pause function showcases a thoughtful approach to ensuring human control and oversight.
Versatility and Vision
In a captivating display of versatility, Optimus was seen performing yoga poses, a testament to its adaptability and range of potential applications beyond industrial tasks. With Elon Musk envisioning Optimus performing ballet one day, the boundaries seem limitless for this technological marvel. In the video Tesla talks about Optimus's capabilities, stating:
“Tesla Optimus is now capable of self-calibrating its arms and legs. Using only vision and joint position encoders, it can precisely locate its limbs in space. Accurately calibrated, Optimus learns various tasks more efficiently. Its neural net runs entirely on-board, using only vision. For example, it can sort these blocks by color fully autonomously. And it does so while dealing with the dynamic reality of our world. Optimus also demonstrates autonomous, corrective action capabilities. It can be trained to conduct new tasks, such as un-sorting. And after a long day of work, time to stretch. Namaste!”
Musk's bullish predictions hint at Optimus contributing substantially to Tesla's long-term value. With a potential demand reaching billions of units, Optimus is poised to revolutionize industries and redefine the integration of robotics in daily life. A 2027 release might have seemed ambitious, but given the rapid progress, it is increasingly plausible.
Tesla's Optimus program illustrates ambition, innovation, and rapid development from CGI skepticism to witnessing a more refined, adaptable, and autonomous robot. I, for one, can't wait for the next AI Day.
Optimus Sorting Objects
Optimus can now sort objects autonomously ?
Its neural network is trained fully end-to-end: video in, controls out.
Come join to help develop Optimus (& improve its yoga routine ?)
Tesla recently introduced Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) payment options in the United States and Canada for items in the Tesla Shop, letting owners pay later for new vehicle accessories.
However, with Tesla app update 4.46, they’re expanding support to a much more critical area — Tesla Service. Qualifying owners in the U.S. and Canada will now be able to use Pay Later options for service performed by Tesla, which includes maintenance or repairs.
Services are provided by Affirm and Klarna, as per Mark Fonte, a Senior Software Engineer working on the Tesla app.
The new feature is seamlessly integrated into the existing service workflow within the Tesla app.
On the Service Estimate, before work on the vehicle begins, you will see a new message on the estimate screen: Pay over time - see if you qualify.
Tapping this link opens the payment calculator, which allows you to view potential payment structures and monthly costs. This provides a clear picture of what a payment plan would look like before you commit to servicing your vehicle.
Additionally, after service is complete and you are ready to pay, the final payment screen will present Affirm and Klarna (region-dependent) as selectable payment methods, alongside the usual options of Tesla Credit or your primary payment card.
Tapping Affirm or Klarna here will reopen the payment calculator, and a confirmation prompt will appear before selecting either BNPL option.
Service Now, Pay Later
Overall, the integration of BNPL providers for service is a thoughtful one for vehicle owners. The terms can vary widely, so it’s important to compare them to other payment options you may have access to. The additional financial flexibility, when faced with a large repair bill, allows more owners to get their vehicle professionally and properly serviced by Tesla.
For those getting larger work done, such as high-voltage battery pack replacements, this is an excellent option to spread payments over a longer period, helping reduce the burden of vehicle repair.
With the launch of Tesla’s Robotaxi Network, we didn't just get a peek into the future of transportation—we got a detailed look at the next version of FSD.
Videos from early access riders revealed some additional capabilities over current public FSD builds, showing off how it handles emergency vehicles and more.
Safety First for First Responders
One of the biggest changes in FSD’s capabilities is its improved handling of emergency vehicles. During a ride in Austin, Robotaxi is seen identifying an approaching ambulance using a combination of visual and audio data, activating its turn signal, and smoothly pulling over to the side of the road to let the ambulance by (video below).
This is a driving task that requires more than simple awareness of laws. It requires reasoning skills to determine where to move the vehicle to create a safe path, as well as the ability to quickly identify an ambulance or another emergency service vehicle with its sirens and lights activated. Understanding the context and executing a safe and predictable maneuver is crucial, as a wrong maneuver could actually make matters worse.
For FSD and Robotaxi to gain both public trust and regulatory approval, this skill is non-negotiable, and Tesla demonstrated its advancements right here. It’s not surprising Tesla added this ability before Robotaxis made it to public roads.
How does a fleet of Robotaxis keep its eyes clean without constant human intervention? Well, a clever new feature that Tesla has previously hinted at in their FSD release notes provides the answer. Robotaxi can now trigger a specific wiper and washer fluid sequence designed to clean the main front-facing cameras.
This might seem like a small detail, but it’s a brilliant solution to one of Tesla’s primary challenges - maintaining sensor clarity. While the vehicle could simply wipe the windshield multiple times, this is a clever solution to clean the most important area of the windshield as thoroughly as possible by focusing extra wiper fluid and wipes on that area.
Complex Maneuvers
Two areas where current builds of FSD V13.2.9 sometimes show hesitation are U-turns and navigating busy parking lots. The latest Robotaxi build appears to improve on both of these areas.
This first video shows a Robotaxi performing a flawless U-turn with no hesitation, and then smoothly switching lanes to take a turn.
Another video on X shows FSD’s updated confidence in navigating a complex parking lot for a precise drop-off. Today’s builds can sometimes struggle in parking lots, being slow and overly cautious when not needed, or too confident elsewhere. This appears to have been improved in these Robotaxi FSD builds with improved path planning and confidence.
Tesla Robotaxi service is just so smooth. Handles parking lots very well, noticeably better than the competitors pic.twitter.com/D5OxSrajCW
We’re also likely to see FSD begin to handle more complex destination options, including parking garages and driveways, which have been promised features for almost a year. The Robotaxi FSD build has also gained the ability to safely pull over on a road, similar to the ambulance example above, but it uses this capability to drop off and pick up passengers. This is a feature that was mentioned in FSD v13.2’s Upcoming Improvements section.
Better Nighttime Performance
Driving at night presents additional challenges, including headlight glare and reduced visibility. The latest version of FSD appears to handle it with almost the same grace as it does during the day. Remember that Tesla’s Robotaxis are available up until midnight. Early access riders mentioned that FSD is far smoother and is a step up from the behavior of current FSD builds.
Impressive nighttime performance from Tesla Robotaxi, dropping us off at In-N-Out as smoothly as it did during the day. pic.twitter.com/yQOhphtR0q
Now, what happens when a passenger feels unsafe or has a critical question? Tesla has placed two key buttons on the rear screen for just those purposes. Users are given control over the ability to Call Support, which almost instantly connects them with a real human agent at Tesla’s Robotaxi Operations Center via video call.
Here’s what happens when you hit the support button in Tesla’s Robotaxi’s.
While it isn’t a fundamental driving feature, it does mean that Tesla’s team can provide support to Robotaxi vehicles remotely, like issuing directive commands to have a vehicle proceed straight, rather than attempting to turn through a gated community.
The other option, Pull Over, allows a rider to immediately request the vehicle to safely pull over, which it will do when it can find a safe and open location. At this point, you can either continue your trip or get out of the Robotaxi.
Both options prompt you with an “Are You Sure?” button before letting you continue, which means you won’t have your Robotaxi ride come to an abrupt stop if you tap the ‘Pull Over’ button by accident.
What This Means for Tesla Owners
These features are likely to be included in future FSD builds. This is essentially the new benchmark by which to judge FSD, at least once it begins rolling out to customer vehicles.
Many of the core driving improvements, such as the more confident maneuvering and emergency vehicle response, will make their way to the wider fleet in upcoming FSD updates.
Remember - Robotaxi isn’t just a service, it is also a preview of Tesla’s driverless FSD builds.
![Tesla Autonomously Delivers Its First Vehicle to Customer — And It’s More Impressive Than Expected [VIDEO]](https://www.notateslaapp.com/img/containers/article_images/model-y-2025/newmodely_77.jpg/382e0312c769d0bb2e1234f7ac556fad/newmodely_77.jpg)
![First Recorded Tesla Robotaxi Intervention: UPS Truck Encounter [VIDEO]](https://www.notateslaapp.com/img/containers/article_images/2025/robotaxi_model_y.jpg/3036d8b53214c2d071c978c42911e451/robotaxi_model_y.jpg)
![First Look at Tesla's Robotaxi App and Its Features [PHOTOS]](https://www.notateslaapp.com/img/containers/article_images/tesla-app/robotaxi-app/robotaxi-app-tips.webp/e643a61975bf712d18dc9aa9a48fdb01/robotaxi-app-tips.jpg)
