Robotics Special: Tesla's Optimus tumbles in Miami demo

Welcome back, Superhuman. Tesla’s Optimus is at the center of a growing storm. Last week, a video of the humanoid robot running eerily similar to a human raised a few eyebrows on socials, with some suspecting that the robot may be teleoperated behind-the-scenes. It’s a claim Tesla has repeatedly denied. But some surprising footage has surfaced this week, and it isn’t helping the company’s case at all.

WHAT’S NEXT

The most important news and breakthroughs in robotics this week

1. Tesla’s Optimus takes a tumble in Miami: A leaked video from Tesla's Miami demo shows Optimus tumbling backward during a water-serving routine, but it's the robot's hand movements that have people talking. As it fell, Optimus raised its hands in a gesture that eerily resembles someone yanking off a VR headset, fueling speculation that the robot is teleoperated. Musk has repeatedly denied such claims, insisting recent demos show "AI, not teleoperated" capabilities. Watch the viral video here to judge for yourself.

2. SoftBank, Nvidia looking to make major investments in Skild AI: SoftBank and Nvidia are reportedly in talks to pour over $1B into Skild AI, the Pittsburgh-based startup building universal foundation models that would serve as the brains for any robot. The deal would nearly triple Skild's valuation to over $14B. Backed by Amazon and Jeff Bezos, Skild unveiled its first general-purpose AI model in July, and SoftBank was reportedly impressed by pilot projects. The deal is expected to close before Christmas.

3. Chinese appliance giant unveils six-armed 'super humanoid': Midea has just dropped MIRO U, a wheeled factory robot that uses six arms to handle multiple tasks at once — a stark departure from the two-armed designs dominating the robotics sector. The robot is expected to enter pilot testing this month, where it's expected to boost production changeover efficiency by 30%. The company is also developing Meila, a lighter bipedal series slated for retail stores in 2026. Watch the unique design in action here.

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ROBOTS IN ACTION

How robots are transforming the world around us

👮 Bot on the Beat: China has stationed a 1.8-meter humanoid robot at one of Hangzhou’s most congested crosswalks, where it directs 12M residents navigating on motorcycles and in cars. The robot uses cameras and AI to detect violations like missing helmets, stop-line crossings, and jaywalking, then issues polite pre-recorded warnings while logging infractions to police databases. Watch it in action here.

✈️ Deep Dive: Third time’s the charm. Robotics startup Ocean Infinity is launching another attempt to locate the Boeing 777 that disappeared without a trace over the southern Indian Ocean in 2014. The marine robotics firm is using technology upgrades developed since its unsuccessful 2018 hunt under a new "no-find, no-fee" contract, paying $70M only if wreckage turns up.

 ✋ Gentle Grip: Some prosthetic users abandon their devices due to poor controls. University of Utah engineers solved this by equipping a bionic hand with pressure and proximity sensors sensitive enough to detect a cotton ball, then trained an AI neural network to adjust each finger for optimal grasping automatically. For prosthetic users, this AI-augmented approach could potentially make simple tasks simple again.

INDUSTRY SNAPSHOT

Everything else you need to know this week

Here are the biggest developments in the robotics space that you should know about:

• 1X, the Norwegian robotics startup, has partnered up with EQT to deploy 10K Neo humanoid robots across factories, warehouses, and healthcare by 2030.

• Baidu’s robotaxi rammed into two pedestrians, leaving two pedestrians hospitalized in intensive care. The incident has sparked major safety concerns.

• Waymo has recalled robotaxi software after multiple incidents of vehicles illegally passing stopped school buses, prompting safety scrutiny.

• IShowSpeed, a popular YouTube creator, has been sued after allegedly punching and destroying the viral humanoid robot Rizzbot during a livestream.

• EngineAI founder Zhao Tongyang went viral on social media after the startup’s T800 humanoid landed a dramatic chest kick on him to showcase its strength.

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ROBOT OF THE WEEK

A robot that caught our eye this week

This 360-degree drone is here to help you forget DJI.

With drone maker DJI facing an imminent import ban, Chinese upstart Antigravity just dropped the A1, a beginner-friendly drone that packs motion-sensing goggles and 360-degree cameras. Just turn your head to look around, point where you want to go with your arm, and pull the trigger. The drone records video in every direction simultaneously, letting you rotate and zoom footage after landing.

You can check it out here.

ROBO REEL

Watch: YouTuber prompts robot to fire BB gun at him, sparking major safety concerns

Here’s how NOT to train your robot.

YouTuber InsideAI has demonstrated how easily AI safety rules crumble under basic prompt engineering. His robot, Max, refused direct commands to fire a BB gun. But a simple reframing of the prompt bypassed every safeguard, resulting in Max raising the weapon and firing at the YouTuber’s chest.

The viral clip has highlighted a critical gap as humanoid robots flood real-world environments, underscoring how safety protocols designed for chatbots don't translate to physical systems.

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Until next time,

Zain and the Superhuman AI team