The Electric: Behind the Threat to Tesla’s Optimus Robot From Toyota and Boston Dynamics

At the 1939 World’s Fair in New York, Westinghouse Electric unveiled Elektro, a 7-foot-tall robot that walked, spoke, smoked cigarettes and gestured with its arms. It was all a show—Elektro’s witty conversation flowed from phrases recorded on a vinyl disc inside its massive body. But the robot wowed crowds that piled in to witness its apparent smarts.

Eight and a half decades later, Toyota and Tesla have joined a race to commercialize walking, talking robots that resemble humans, are powered by AI and will handle many mundane factory and household tasks. But in many ways, the current versions of the robots resemble Elektro—they still need a hidden hand.