Tesla Bot humanoid to debut in 2022

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has announced the US electric car-maker is readying a prototype humanoid robot that will be capable of carrying out "boring, repetitious and dangerous" work.

Following in the tyre tracks of other car companies like Honda, which has been developing its ASIMO robot and other wearable assistance bots for decades, Tesla's outspoken CEO made the shock announcement the Tesla Bot was coming next year at a Tesla AI Day event.

To measure 5ft8in (178cm) tall and weigh 57kg, the Tesla Bot will be capable of everything from attaching bolts to cars with a spanner to picking up groceries from your local store, according to Musk.

Declaring the Tesla Bot would have "profound implications for the economy", Musk said the motivation behind developing the new droid was global labour shortages.

During his speech, Tesla's boss did not reveal details of the costs involved, but claimed it would not be "super-expensive".

Helping the car-maker develop the Tesla Bot from scratch is the availability of the same computer chips and navigation tech as used in Tesla's semi-autonomous cars, such as the Tesla Model 3.

The new robot will also feature up to eight cameras.

Confusing viewers of the AI conference hosted by the car-maker, Musk then brought out a dancer dressed in a spandex robo suit to perform on stage.

Many commentators within the robotics industry are dubious of the Musk claims, pointing to the difficulties other established robo-makers (like Hyundai Motor Group-owned Boston Dynamics) have had developing their humanoid droids in the past.

The announcement of the Tesla Bot also coincided with a difficult week for the US brand following the revelation that a powerful US safety body was investigating the car-maker over a number of accidents involving Tesla cars crashing into stationary emergency services vehicles.