Last week, Tesla staged an exciting event called “We, Robot,” but instead of knocking the investors’ socks off, the whole affair ended up leaving most of them scratching their heads. The program was held at a ritzy Hollywood studio-like venue, a perfect setting for what some are now referring to as a big show of “smoke and mirrors.” Tesla displayed futuristic robots and self-driving taxis, but according to the experts, the technology is still very far from being ready. This left many people, especially investors, with serious doubts about the big promises Tesla had been touting.

A Show Full of Robots… But Not Quite Real
The event witnessed the making of a flashy appearance by a group of humanoid robots, Optimus. They were going around, serving drinks and even talking to folks during the event. These robots seemed like they had come straight out of a sci-fi movie. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has spoken about how such robots could change our future. According to him, they can do all sorts of tasks such as teaching, babysitting, walking your dog, mowing your lawn, and even becoming your friend. Sounds cool, right?

However, there’s a catch. The robots were not truly autonomous. In the background, humans controlled the robots. Experts and analysts report that they were highly dependent on human support. This was a massive disappointment for those who had expected to view the future of artificial intelligence (AI) in action.

Human-Controlled Robots
According to Adam Jonas of Morgan Stanley, in a note, these Optimus robots were demanding human interventions at the show; they were not actually implementing on their own but rather were being controlled by a human from a distance- kind of like a remote-controlled toy. They can walk unaided but their conversations with visitors, apparently were also intervention-guided by humans.

For example, in a video of the conference that was widely shared, one of the robots was posed with the question: “What’s the hardest thing about being a robot?” The robot hesitated before responding: “Uhh… trying to… learn to be as human as you guys.” It was amusing, and it made the audience laugh, but it wasn’t an instance of real advanced AI. It felt more like a wittily put-on puppet show.

Big Questions, Big Promises
Elon Musk tends to make grand announcements of the future. This event was no different, except that he maintains that when everything that is needed for human life is being done by robots. What has caused much concern in this is that it requires humans to function. Investors and technologists are now asking the extent to which robots are fully migrating into our lives.

Musk described how these robots would be able to do everything from running errands to merely just hanging around with you. Of course, the robots on display had not yet reached the point of being independent, and it’s plain that the vision Musk has set forth for us is still a long way off, perhaps never to be. It’s thrilling to consider a future in which the tasks fall to the robots, but that’s far from the case at this point in history.

Underwhelming Investors
More than just its robots, however, Tesla unveiled its “robotaxi” called the Cybercab, a futuristic two-seater vehicle. The Cybercab wasn’t exactly a showstopper with few people impressively raving about it. Waymo has been working on its self-driving cars for ages so the Cybercab might have something to worry about in impressing investors who now already know what to look out for.

Its stock took a big hit following the event, plummeting sharply the following morning. A sign investors are getting bored with all the grand promises that never seem to come true. Tesla is worth more than the combined output of the world’s top car companies and has much to prove.
Musk’s bold promises are increasingly drawing more raised eyebrows than applause. More Hype Than Substance?
One analyst, Garrett Nelson of CFRA described the event as “like watching a movie with a lot of plot twists and special effects, and at the end, you’re walking out scratching your head.” That sums it all: exciting to watch but many questions left when it was over.

Tesla is famous for its brash innovations and efforts to try new things and push the frontiers of technological knowledge. But events such as “We, Robot” are starting to feel like smoke-and-mirrors hype compared to a show with some real action going on—like proven progress rather than one of flash with partially completed robots.

What’s Next for Tesla?
The disappointment experienced still saw a disappointed majority, but very obviously, it does not seem like letting go of its vision into the future since Musk and his team continue working on the actualization of fully autonomous robots and self-driving cars. However, for now, it seems like we are going to have to wait a little bit longer before we see these technologies unveiled.

The event reminded people that it is hard to develop advanced AI and robotics. One can think of showing off a walk-talking robot, but it is a whole different matter when the robot can think and act independently without human control. For now, it’s just going to remain as Tesla’s robots that are still under development.

A Future Still in the Making
The “We, Robot” event eventually just served as a flashy reminder that the future Musk speaks of is not here yet. Exciting ideas from Tesla notwithstanding, impressive to see these robots, but the fact that they still depend on control from humans shows us we’re not even close yet.

Of course, it is easy to get caught up in the excitement of what could be, but for now, we have to remember that there’s still a long way to go. In fact, the future of robots and AI is still being written, and only time will tell if Tesla will be able to turn its ambitious dreams into reality.