Elon Musk welcomes competition from humanoid robot rivals: 'Bring it on'

Elon Musk has a straightforward message for his rivals in the AI sphere. Antonio Masiello/Getty Images

• Elon Musk isn’t fazed by a humanoid robot startup’s newly announced collaboration with OpenAI.
• OpenAI, creator of ChatGPT, is a competitor to Musk’s startup xAI.
• Musk is also making a humanoid robot, Optimus, through Tesla.

Elon Musk doesn’t seem worried about humanoid robots — even if they’re made by his competitors.

“Bring it on,” Musk posted in response to Figure AI cofounder Brett Adcock’s Thursday announcement of a collaboration with OpenAI to develop AI-powered machines.

The comment was a tacit acknowledgment that Figure and OpenAI are rivals to the Tesla CEO’s own AI ambitions. Musk unveiled tech startup xAI last year, which debuted AI chatbot Grok last November.

Figure AI did not immediately respond to Business Insider’s request for comment on Musk’s post.

Musk is also developing a humanoid robot, Optimus, at Tesla. The company’s first prototype was shown off at Tesla’s AI Day in 2022. The robot has yet to launch, but Musk has posted updates of its developmental progress.

Tesla unveiled its plans to make a humanoid robot, Optimus, in 2021. The robot is still in development. Future Publishing/ Getty Images

Musk’s disdain for OpenAI, Figure AI’s main backer, is no secret. Musk cofounded and invested in the company with Sam Altman before a falling out led to his departure. On Thursday, Musk filed a lawsuit against the ChatGPT maker and its founder, Sam Altman, alleging that the company breached its contract by adopting a “capped-profit” holding company, and that its partnership with Microsoft violates its original mission as a nonprofit.

“It isn’t clear to me how the OpenAI structure is legal at all,” he posted to X last month.

OpenAI did not respond to BI’s request for comment on Musk’s lawsuit ahead of publication.

Besides OpenAI, Figure AI has also secured funding from Microsoft, NVIDIA, and Amazon’s Jeff Bezos (through his family office, Bezos Expeditions), Adcock said on X.

Figure AI says its robots will be useful in “manufacturing, logistics, warehousing, and retail.” Last month, Adcock shared a video of one of the human-like machines operating a coffee maker.

Tesla’s Optimus seems to be designed for similar purposes, including tasks that are “unsafe, repetitive or boring.”