Chalk this up to the perks of being a celebrity. Better yet, chalk this up to the perks of being one of the most famous women on the planet, with an online following that counts several hundreds of millions of people from all over the world: Kim Kardashian may already be the owner of an Optimus robot from Tesla.
At least, that's how she's trying to make it look. Some hours ago, reality star and business mogul Kim Kardashian took to her Instagram Stories to share videos and photos from a one-on-one meeting with Optimus, the humanoid robot currently in development at Tesla. She also posted content from a close-up look at the recently unveiled Tesla CyberCab, hinting that she went from a ride in it.
Kim didn't offer context for the videos or the photos, so this could have been a visit to the Tesla plant and not her taking delivery of an Optimus, which, as far as the world knows, is not even close to production stage. But in the world of social media, where appearances are everything, and facts seem to matter very little, this did earn Kim extra popularity points with her millions of fans and followers.
The most famous Kardashian sibling is one of the first celebrities to take delivery of a Cybertruck Founders Edition and, without a doubt, the exposure she brought is of the kind that money can't buy. Kim is now believed to be at her third Cybertruck, a satin silver custom version she compares to the CyberCab in one of the videos.
Photo: Instagram/Kim Kardashian
She and ex-husband Kanye West have been close to Tesla CEO Elon Musk for years, too – which is to say, if there's one person Musk would invite for a viewing, it would be Kim, on the condition that she be allowed to post about it on the socials.
But let's play along with Kim and pretend that she really got an Optimus, as she wants us to believe. Videos show her playing rock-paper-scissors with the robot, teaching it to blow kisses, and doing heart shapes with their hands. It's nothing extraordinary and definitely nothing we haven't seen before, though Kim is probably the first civilian to get to interact with it and boast about it publicly. That we know of.
Optimus started out as an idea teased by Musk, more or less as a whim. But progress on it has been considerable, with Musk bringing it out at this year's We, Robot event to show the latest developments.
Photo: Instagram/Kim Kardashian
Optimus, designed as a sort of personal assistant that will be able to carry out chores and offer companionship, stands 5.6-feet (173 cm) tall and weighs 128 lbs (58 kg). It's capable of walking and going up stairs in fully autonomous mode at speeds of up to 5 mph (8 kph), and carry up to 45 lbs (20 kg) of cargo. As Kim shows, it can also blow kisses.
Elena has been writing for a living since 2006 and, as a journalist, she has put her double major in English and Spanish to good use. She covers automotive and mobility topics like cars and bicycles, and she always knows the shows worth watching on Netflix and friends. Full profile
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