Back in the summer, Elon Musk caused a sensation by unveiling a strange humanoid robot concept, embodied at the time by a human in a suit.

Today, this project is gaining momentum and a prototype is expected later this year.

According to the website The Verge, Elon Musk said: “So, in terms of priority of products, I think actually the most important product development we’re doing this year is actually the Optimus humanoid robot. This, I think, has the potential to be more significant than the vehicle business over time.”

Elon Musk is particularly ambitious in terms of the uses for this future robot. It will have to be able to perform repetitive, often mundane and sometimes even dangerous tasks without ever faltering.

In absolute terms, it could do shopping, as well as help carry heavy loads or screw in bolts. However, all this remains science fiction for now.

If it sees the light of day soon, Optimus will probably be used on Tesla’s production lines, to put things away or assemble certain parts.

This Tesla robot concept has the morphology of a human of about 1.75 meters, weighing 56 kg. In motion, it should not exceed 8 km/h and, in terms of disposition, it is expected to be “friendly.”

Note that the Roadster (the most powerful Tesla), the Cybertruck pick-up and the Semi truck are not due to enter production before 2023.