Elon Musk shares Tesla’s Optimus robot dancing with human-like agility

The six-second clip, posted on Musk’s X account on May 13, shows the robot swaying rhythmically and moving its arms and legs with fluidity. Musk noted the video was filmed in real time.

The robot’s confident and controlled movements mark a clear improvement over earlier demos, which were more hesitant and jerky, according to tech outlet Interesting Engineering.

Milan Kovac, identified as an Optimus engineer in his X profile, reshared Musk’s post and wrote: "More coming shortly! The team has been working very hard in the background."

He said the robot was trained entirely in simulation using reinforcement learning, a technique where AI learns through trial and error in virtual environments.

Elon Musk shares Tesla’s Optimus robot dancing with human-like agility Elon Musk shares Tesla’s Optimus robot dancing with human-like agility

Tesla's humanoid robot Optimus dances like human. Video courtesy of Elon Musk's X

Kovac added that Tesla had introduced numerous "optimizations and fixes" to its sim-to-real transfer process, widely regarded as a major challenge in robotics. He also clarified that the visible cable in the video was "there in case of a fall (not holding the bot)," as the performance was still an early-stage result.

This latest demo follows previous milestones for Optimus, including a 2022 walking prototype and later updates showing it sorting objects, lifting items, and navigating slopes.

In April, Musk announced plans to produce thousands of Optimus units by the end of 2025.