Show Notes
Elon Musk’s Tesla is shifting from a car company to a robot company. Its Optimus humanoid robot has plenty of company, with everyone from Unitree and Agibot to LG and Hyundai showing off new concepts and products at CES 2026. But without successful “world” AI models, the humanoid robot may not be ready for ubiquity.
Tech Gets Real is a show about staying in control in a time of rapid technological change. I'm veteran tech journalist David Meyer, and I've been covering topics like online privacy and freedom for two decades. If you like this, please hit like and subscribe, and share it with others who might find it useful.
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REFERENCES:
The Guardian on Tesla abandoning the X and S https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/jan/28/tesla-q4-earnings-estimates-elon-musk
Wired on Fauna’s Sprout https://www.wired.com/story/humanoid-robot-butler-sprout-fauna/
Engadget on Agibot’s A2 and X2 https://www.engadget.com/ai/agibots-humanoid-robots-can-give-directions-and-learn-your-tiktok-dances-045049798.html
BGR on Unitree’s G1 https://www.bgr.com/2083491/china-agibot-humanoid-robot-us-competition/
TechCrunch on LG’s CLOiD https://techcrunch.com/2026/01/08/i-watched-lgs-new-home-robot-cloid-do-laundry-but-i-have-questions/
Interesting Engineering on Hyundai’s Atlas https://interestingengineering.com/ai-robotics/hyundais-atlas-humanoid-wins-top-honor
Elon Musk’s tweet about people only remembering Tesla’s robots https://x.com/elonmusk/status/2011679509628457408
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