Gene Munster, managing partner of growth-investment firm Deepwater Asset Management, acknowledged the idea that Optimus was remotely controlled and said he had been “fooled” at the event. Still, he said in a post on Musk’s X platform, it gave a “window into the potential around these products.”

Musk first announced Tesla’s humanoid robot by bringing what was very clearly a person in a robot suit on stage, so it’s no surprise that the Optimuses (Optimi? Optimodes?) at

I, Robot' director Alex Proyas accused Elon Musk of ripping off his sci-fi film designs in Musk's latest Tesla prototypes, including the Optimus bot.

Elon Musk's Optimus robots were voiced and operated remotely by humans wearing special suits that translated their movements to the droid.

Tesla used humans to remotely control some capabilities of its Optimus robot prototypes at a recent event, according to people familiar with the matter.

Behind the flash and spectacle, it was clear that the Tesla's Optimus robots were not as autonomous as they appeared.

Musk said the $20,000 to $30,000 robot could perform household tasks like mowing lawns and putting away groceries.