The claim
“That robot demo was fully autonomous.”
Autonomy in robot demos is usually stated only by the maker; in documented cases, such as Tesla's 2024 event, people controlled the robots remotely.
01The evidence
Independent
Bloomberg, The Verge and other outlets reported that the Optimus robots at Tesla's 'We, Robot' event in October 2024 were operated remotely by people.
Independent
In one video from the event, an Optimus bartender said it was being helped by a human.
Company or forecast
After posting a video of Optimus folding a shirt, Elon Musk added that Optimus could not yet do this on its own.
Company or forecast
1X says NEO owners can book a 1X staff member to guide the robot remotely through chores it does not yet know.
Independent
TechCrunch reported that human operators at 1X are able to look through NEO's cameras, its 'eyes'.
Company or forecast
Figure describes its 30-home test as autonomous, and says a run counted as failed if a person had to step in for safety.
What we don't know. Most makers do not say whether a demo was remote-controlled, sped up or repeated many times, and no outside body checks demo videos.