It was a big day at Tesla – the wait for AI Day was over. Elon Musk is known for his hard-charging style and high expectations of everyone around him. He also has the capacity to put in 100+ hour work weeks and is highly driven. Given this context, the billionaire CEO seemed to be stumped when he was asked what advice he had for his younger self. He gathered his thoughts and answered the question by saying that he would tell his younger self to stop and occasionally smell the roses.
He added that he would tell his younger version to not be so intense and enjoy each moment more. To make this point he said that he remembered a time when SpaceX was in the process of developing its very first Falcon rocket. Musk said that he regretted not taking the time to have a drink while on the beach.
In the meanwhile, Musk had fun teasing a prototype robot (humanoid) being developed by Tesla and unveiled on AI Day. The very basic robot looked like something from the 1980s and it couldn’t walk like a conventional one. Musk has been at the receiving end of flak for shoddy work and the very disappointing unveiling of the iRobot version. Shareholders and many internet watchers were expecting something cutting-edge.
Musk did say that he was expecting to release a commercial version of the Optimus in around 5 years. The robot is expected to execute mundane chores around the house and cost less than a car – $20,000 or lower. Musk is convinced that it will become a bigger seller than the company’s EVs.
