After a quick burst of superficial momentum over the past few months, Tesla (TSLA) stock appears to be running out of steam, albeit predictably.
The electric vehicle (EV) company, formerly considered a leader within its industry, has been struggling for months, continuously failing to demonstrate any sustainable growth. With the global backlash from consumers sparked by Elon Musk’s polarizing actions driving down EV sales in every major market, the company is facing a highly uncertain future.
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Meanwhile, Tesla’s plan to roll out an autonomous robotaxi in June 2025, something its fans have been awaiting for years, now appears questionable at best, despite the company’s claims that the summer launch is still on track.
Tesla recently shared something on social media that caught the attention of many people, both brand enthusiasts and non-fans. But so far, the reception has been mixed, with some users levying strong criticisms.
Elon Musk is working hard to get the world to see Tesla as more than just a car company.
Image source: Apu Gomes/Getty Images
Some Tesla fans aren’t impressed with the latest update
After having significant problems selling EVs, Tesla seems focused on showing the world that it isn’t just a car company. Recently, this has been attempting to draw attention to another area of technology that Elon Musk has touted over the past year: robots.
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Musk has repeatedly highlighted the power and potential of Optimus, Tesla’s robotic humanoid. He claims that this technology will lead to a future in which robots will outnumber humans in less than two decades.
On May 12, though, the Tesla Optimus X account shared a video that caught the attention of many people: a robot dancing first to classic and later to techno music. The video’s caption states simply that the robot “Was just getting warmed up,” providing no further context on its progress.
Tesla’s primary X account shared the original post with a sarcastic caption that reads like it could have been written by Musk himself: “We’re a car company right,” seemingly intended to challenge the people who see it only as a car company, despite its ventures into other areas.
The video quickly picked up traction across social media, with many users chiming in with their commentary on the robot. While some marveled at it, noting the robot’s visual appeal, others were less impressed.
“Locomotion is the easiest part to solve for humanoids,” states one Reddit user. “The floor is a mostly predictable, stable planar surface, so it’s relatively easy to predict interactions with, and especially, have a high-quality model/sim for.”
The user argues that handling objects is significantly more difficult for robots to do. In a later comment, they claim to be a professional, seemingly in the field of robotics, though no further details are provided.
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Another commenter notes that dancing robots are far from new, stating that they had a similar toy as a child 20 years ago. “Dancing robots [are] basically a huge waste of time and kind of makes me think they’re bottlenecked on real tasks of value.”
Even a dancing robot may not be a reason to celebrate
For Tesla enthusiasts, the eye-catching dancing robot video may seem like a harbinger of positive things to come. But as is often the case with Tesla, all may not be as it seems.
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Troy Teslike, a digital analyst who tracks Tesla’s progress and makes estimates regarding its future success or failures, provided a detailed analysis of Tesla’s dancing robot. They highlight some concerns regarding the technology, noting that it doesn’t necessarily have useful applications yet.
“In short, Optimus can copy human movements without falling over, but that doesn’t mean it has the sensors or balance to do similar movements on its own without exactly replicating a human,” states the analysis. “So, the technology is still far from being useful in a home setting.”
It feels like a classic Musk play to use flashy technology to distract fans and investors from the company’s lack of useful progress. A dancing robot may be entertaining, but as highlighted by Troy, it doesn’t mean that consumers are on the verge of having Tesla bots in their homes.
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