Among the mad dash to commercialize humanoid robots, Tesla revealed plans for its own robot, the Optimus, in 2021. While a prototype materialized in 2022, the company has been largely silent on developments, aside from a few demonstration videos over the last two years. It looks like the company is refocusing its efforts, however, as a new job listing, originally reported by Business Insider, is looking to hire people to train the upcoming batch of robots.
According to the job listing, Tesla is looking to hire people to wear motion capture suits and VR headsets to capture data on which Optimus will be trained. There are some requirements, however, as applicants must be between 5’7 and 5’11, will need to walk 7+ hours a day, and lift up to 30 lbs. It seems that workers will be extremely active, which makes sense if the motion capture data being collected is being used to train multipurpose robots. Applicants “must have the ability to stand, sit, walk, stoop, bend, reach, crouch, and twist throughout the day.”
Lastly, the hours of the job suggest that Tesla is quite literally trying to work around the clock on Optimus technology, no doubt spurred on by the recent influx of humanoid robot prototypes being demonstrated from various companies. Shifts are available at all hours of the day, from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., 4 p.m. to 12:30 a.m., and 12 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. At any time, day or night, Tesla workers will be walking in VR so that one day, Optimus may run.
