A video from Tesla's Autonomy Visualized event in Miami shows the Optimus robot knocking over water bottles and falling backward with a gesture resembling the removal of a VR headset. The clip, shared on Reddit, has fueled suspicions that the robot was remotely controlled by a human operator. This incident revives doubts about the autonomy of Tesla's humanoid robot amid Elon Musk's ambitious claims.
At Tesla's "Autonomy Visualized" event held at a dealership in Miami over the weekend of December 7-8, 2025, a demonstration featuring the Optimus robot went awry. According to videos posted on social media and Reddit's r/TeslaMotors subreddit, the robot was handing out plastic water bottles when it failed to grab one, jogged the table, and knocked several over. It then raised its hands to its head in a motion resembling the lifting of goggles or a VR headset, froze, and toppled backward with an audible crash.
Observers quickly speculated about remote human operation. One Reddit user commented, "Looks like the operator took off their VR headset," a view echoed in replies suggesting the gesture mirrored a teleoperator's actions in dismay after the spill. Another thread referenced a GIF from "RoboCop 2" depicting a similar malfunction, garnering over 17,000 likes. Commenters expressed skepticism, with one stating, "Tesla couldn't even get their robot to serve popcorn at their new restaurant. Everything Tesla does with robots seems to be a disappointing disaster."
Tesla's Optimus humanoid robot was first unveiled in 2022, but past demonstrations have involved admitted human teleoperation. For instance, a 2023 video of Optimus folding a shirt was later revealed to be remotely controlled. At Tesla's robotaxi announcement event last year and a pop-up diner in Hollywood, bots were also teleoperated. The company states that Optimus learns through such remote control in its labs. Elon Musk has claimed recent feats, like a kung fu performance video, are fully AI-controlled.
Musk has emphasized Optimus's future role, predicting it will account for 80% of Tesla's value and that the company aims to sell one million units priced at $20,000 to $30,000. He announced plans for humanoid robots in 2021, though the initial event featured a person in a spandex suit rather than actual bots. Timelines have slipped: Musk hoped to sell Optimus by end-2025 but delayed to 2026, with thousands intended for Tesla warehouses this year. Last month, he said AI and robotics would make work optional and money irrelevant.
