IT之家 On October 28, it was reported that Tesla's Robotaxi driverless taxis are already able to drive themselves into Supercharger stations, but human staff are still needed to manually plug in the charging cable. In the future, this task may be handed over to Tesla's humanoid robot Optimus.
In a recent interview with Munro Live, Tesla's Vice President of Vehicle Engineering Lars Moravy and Cybercab project lead Eric Earley said that Tesla plans to use the Optimus humanoid robot to plug and unplug the charging connector for the Robotaxi, while continuing to develop a more highly automated wireless charging system. The two said: "We hope Optimus will soon be able to do this work for us."
Currently, charging for the autonomous taxis is still done manually.
Currently, Tesla still relies on staff to manually charge its driverless Robotaxis. Recently, a video filmed at a Supercharging station in Austin, USA showed that Tesla employees plug in the charging cables after Cybercab and Model Y driverless taxis arrive. If a vehicle is not parked close enough to the charging pile, staff will also move it into the proper position.
At present, Supercharger stations are the only charging option available for the Cybercab, because this model does not support AC charging. Therefore, the Cybercab still hides a North American Charging Standard (NACS) charging port in the rear bumper.
In the interview, Moravy and Ellus explained that the charging port was retained because, at least for now, the Cybercab still needs to use the charging infrastructure that has already been built.
Wireless charging remains the ultimate goal
In this plan, Optimus plays more of a transitional role. Tesla said that as the new infrastructure is gradually built, the company is developing more highly automated charging methods, and the Cybercab was designed from the start with support for this kind of technology in mind.
IT之家 noticed that earlier this year, Tesla already obtained approval from the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for the Cybercab wireless charging solution. The company also plans to build a Robotaxi charging hub in Austin, equipped with 80 wireless charging units.
Once this system is put into use, vehicles will no longer need a human or an Optimus robot to plug in or unplug the charging connector.
However, this goal is unlikely to be achieved in the short term. Tesla has only recently begun early production of the Optimus humanoid robot at its Fremont factory, with the first deliveries to enterprise customers planned for 2027.
Even if Optimus starts working at Robotaxi charging stations before then, judging by the current pace of progress, Cybercab's wireless charging technology is also unlikely to land next year. Tesla may even need considerably more time before this system reaches the level of maturity and reliability required for actual operation.
Robots have long been part of Tesla's plan
Tesla's plan to use robots in its Robotaxi service is not a recent idea.
Previously, the company had already demonstrated robots for cleaning cars and began installing related equipment at its Robotaxi operation hubs. These hubs will serve as centralized depots for the driverless taxi fleet, where vehicles can charge between trips and receive routine maintenance.
However, this is the first time Tesla has explicitly mentioned incorporating Optimus into its Robotaxi operational processes.
The robot's uses may extend beyond charging. When asked whether Optimus would also help maintain the fleet, Moravy and Earle said it "would probably handle vehicle maintenance and might also be involved in delivery work."
The two also regard Cybercab, Optimus and Robovan as important representatives of the development of physical AI, saying: "The combination of these three will be outstanding."
Currently, Tesla employees will continue to manually charge the Robotaxis. As Optimus gradually begins working at Supercharging stations, Tesla's next step is to roll out wireless charging technology across its various Robotaxi operating markets, ultimately achieving full-process automation from the vehicle automatically driving into the charging area to completing the energy replenishment.