Tesla to Roll Out 5G on Optimus Robot, EVs

Tesla is looking to roll out 5G capabilities for its humanoid robot Optimus and its electric vehicles. 

In a job listing posted to the company’s LinkedIn, Tesla said it is looking for a “highly motivated”

cellular systems integration engineer “to deliver a best-in-class connectivity experience for all Tesla Vehicles and Optimus on Tesla premises.” 

“The role involves understanding internal customer requirements, planning and executing test procedures, rolling out eSIM seamlessly and reliable integration into Tesla’s private 5G network infrastructure,” it said. 

The posting also highlights "Tesla's private 5G protocol stack" to ensure "ultra-reliability and high data rates ... with any private cellular infrastructure vendor and deployment model globally."

Tesla has been steadily getting its Optimus robot ready for commercialization and has shared several updates with the public this year already, including a demonstration of its walking capabilities, and a video of it performing tasks such as folding laundry.

Tesla upgraded Optimus to its second generation in December, in what the company said was a significant step forward for its robot design.

Lead engineer Milan Kovac wrote on X that “2023 has been awesome for Optimus,” saying Tesla has made progress in updating the robot’s dexterity, locomotion and autonomous capabilities. 

Related:Tesla Humanoid Robot Optimus: A Bare-Bones Look

Musk told reporters in a January earnings call that Optimus would likely be shipped to customers this year, though Tesla has not disclosed an exact timeline.

“Optimus is a very new product and an extremely revolutionary product,” Musk said. “It has the potential to far exceed the value of everything else at Tesla combined…it’s by far the most sophisticated humanoid robot that’s being developed.

“I think we’ve got a good chance of shipping some number of Optimus units next year, but as I said it’s a brand new product and there’s a lot of uncertainty when you’re in uncharted territory.”