Elon Musk has never been one to shy away from futuristic ideas, but his latest prediction sounds straight out of a sci-fi movie. During Tesla’s recent shareholder meeting, the billionaire CEO said that one day, humans could upload their brains into Tesla’s humanoid robot, Optimus. According to Musk, the technology to create a digital copy of your consciousness, including your memories and personality, and transfer it to a robotic body could be ready in less than 20 years.

When an audience member asked him if Optimus could ever host a human consciousness, Musk didn’t hesitate. “It’s not immediate,” he said. “But if you say, would you, with Neuralink, be able to take a projected snapshot of someone’s brain and then upload that projected snapshot to Optimus’ body? I think at some point, that technology becomes possible, and it’s probably less than 20 years.”

Elon Musk says that in 20 years we will upload our brains into a Tesla Optimus robot and live forever. Neuralink can copy memories and identity into a machine body, but it forgets one thing: the original consciousness is left behind, trapped in a human shell.
byu/ActivityEmotional228 inNeoCivilization

Although it might sound like a Black Mirror story, Musk appeared completely serious and unusually confident in his timeline.

What is Elon Musk’s Optimus Humanoid?

Optimus, first revealed by Tesla in 2021, represents the company’s vision for a fully autonomous, bipedal robot designed to take over repetitive or dangerous jobs. Unlike the terrifying human-like androids often seen in movies, Optimus has a sleek, futuristic design that still looks mechanical. It stands about 5 feet 8 inches tall, weighs about 56 kilograms, and can walk, pick up objects, and perform everyday human tasks such as moving boxes, assembling parts, or helping around the house.

Its brain is powered by Tesla’s artificial intelligence, the same neural network system that runs the company’s self-driving cars. Over time, Tesla hopes Optimus will evolve from an industrial worker to a home assistant that can interact with humans safely and naturally.

But Musk’s latest comments take the idea far beyond automation. He believes that with the help of his brain-computer interface company Neuralink it may one day be possible to upload a person’s “mind snapshot” to the Optimus robot. “Of course you won’t be exactly the same,” he said. “You’ll be a little different because you’ll be in a robot body, and the mental snapshot won’t be exact. It’ll probably be pretty close, but not exactly the same.”

Musk also added a reflective twist. “On the other hand, are you the same person you were five years ago? No. I mean, a lot of things have changed, so”.

This comment made many in the audience wonder whether they had just heard an outline of the real life path to digital immortality.

Elon Musk claims to end poverty

Beyond mind uploading, Musk believes Optimus could be a turning point for civilization. He has claimed that Tesla’s humanoid robot could help “end poverty” by changing the way the world works. Musk argues that when humanoid robots take over physical and repetitive labor, people will be free to focus on creativity, education, and innovation rather than survival.

He has also said that Tesla’s long-term goal is to make the Optimus affordable enough that every family can own a car, describing the project as potentially “more important than the car business.” If successful, he believes robots like Optimus could take over most physical tasks, dramatically cutting costs and improving global productivity.

Summarizing his vision, Musk said, “I think at some point if you want to be uploaded into a robot body, I guess that will be possible.”

Whether this is a glimpse of the future or another one of Musk’s bold dreams remains to be seen. Still, his track record of turning the impossible into reality, from reusable rockets to electric cars, ensures that when he talks, the world listens.

Right now, Optimus is still learning to walk and perform basic tasks, but if Musk’s predictions are even partially accurate, the robot could one day change what it means to be human. Whether that future sounds exciting or turbulent depends entirely on who you ask.