Elon Musk has shared a new video of Tesla’s humanoid robot Optimus, showing the bot practicing Kung Fu moves, reacting to being pushed, and demonstrating improved mobility. Musk noted that the Optimus unit in the video is entirely AI-powered and not tele-operated, underscoring the robot’s increasing autonomy. You can watch the full clip on X below:
“Tesla Optimus learning Kung Fu,” Musk wrote in the post, highlighting the company’s continued progress on what he has described as one of Tesla’s most important products. Optimus also plays a central role in Tesla’s recently unveiled Master Plan Part 4, which outlines a vision of achieving “sustainable abundance” by scaling AI-driven technologies, including robotics and autonomy.
Tesla first introduced Optimus back in 2021 as a long-term bet on robotics, but the project has since accelerated. Earlier this year, Musk confirmed that Optimus V3, the latest iteration of the humanoid robot, is ready for volume production. He has even gone so far as to say Optimus could ultimately represent more value than Tesla’s vehicle business.
The martial arts demo comes just days after Musk showcased a gold version of Optimus while meeting with the Chairman of the UAE’s National Media Office, emphasizing the growing international attention on Tesla’s robotics program. At the same time, the company has faced challenges. Tesla recently lost Ashish Kumar, its head of Optimus AI, who left to join Meta in September.
Despite the setback, the latest footage shows Tesla pushing ahead with real-world testing and refinement of its humanoid robot. The ability to learn physical skills like Kung Fu without direct operator control demonstrates significant progress in Tesla’s goal of making Optimus both agile and adaptable.
What do you think of Optimus’ latest Kung Fu demo? Could Tesla’s humanoid robot eventually become as big as Elon Musk envisions? Let us know in the comments below.
