Tesla's Optimus Robots in Trouble for Lack of Autonomy, Alleged Similarities to

­Tesla’s Optimus robots have been causing quite the stir, but for all the wrong reasons…unless you believe all publicity is good publicity, and in that case, Elon Musk’s “autonomous” domestic assistants are slaying.

The company showed off the bots at its recent "We, Robot" event, where the artificial creations mingled with guests, served drinks, played games, and danced.

Elon Musk excitedly claimed that the Optimus robots will be "the biggest product of any kind, ever" and that it "can be a teacher, babysit your kids, it can walk your dog, mow your lawn, get the groceries. Just be your friend, serve drinks. Whatever you can think of, it will do."

There’s just one problem – critics noticed that the bots might not be as autonomous as their billing would suggest (at least not yet).

Techie Robert Scoble spoke with an engineer, who pointedly said that the bots used AI while walking. Meanwhile, a video seemingly shows an Optimus admitting that it’s "assisted by a human" and "not yet fully autonomous."

…all of which is fine. Optimus might not be 100% ready for deployment to the masses, and we could be looking at an advanced prototype.

Course, the autonomy nitpicking is nothing compared to a dispute that’s far more Hollywood – Alex Proyas, director of I, Robot, claims Musk stole his designs for the Optimus and the Tesla robovan and taxi.

This one hits a lot closer to home – I’m eternally grateful for Proyas’s The Crow and Dark City, two cinematic masterpieces, but Tesla’s robots only vaguely resemble the creations in Proyas’s putrid adaptation of Isaac Asimov’s I, Robot.

Proyas posted 3 side-by-side comparison shots of Tesla and his robots with the appeal, “Hey Elon, Can I have my designs back please?”

And…well…the cybercab kinda-sorta resembles the one in I, Robot (mainly with its scissor doors), but Optimus looks as much like C-3PO as anything in Isaac Asimov’s film. Yes, Elon Musk deliberately titled the unveiling “We, Robot,” but it’s just as likely he drew inspiration from the original Asimov book (which at this point, has a far better reputation).

I wouldn’t count on Proyas’s complaint going much further than Twitter drama.