Elon Musk had once stated that Optimus, the humanoid robot in question, was one of Tesla’s “most important products.” Big news for the Sci-Fi fans is Musk announced a prototype will be ready for demonstration by September 20th, just in time for Tesla’s ‘AI Day’.

“I hope that we will have an interesting prototype to show people. We have a very talented team at Tesla that I’m working with closely to have a prototype humanoid robot ready by the end of September, and I think we are tracking to that point.”

Elon Musk said.

The robot is set to be tasked with aiding in the production of electric cars across all Tesla factories. It is being built using lightweight materials and will be able to see using the autopilot cameras used in autonomous Tesla vehicles. Previously, Elon Musk had confirmed Optimus will be operated by the Tesla FSD computer.

When asked about the robot, Musk said “It’s intended to be friendly and able to navigate through a world built for humans.”

Currently, Tesla has less than 100,000 employees to work the factory floors but is planning on making some cuts. Elon said that cutting the employees would amount to the reduction of about 3.5% salary-based workers. The alternative, which is most likely going to be taken, is to hire more staff on an hourly basis.

Given the uncertain economical times and the struggle to find the perfect balance between human output and wages, it’s no wonder Musk is looking to replace his factory’s workforce.