“The foundation of the economy is labor,” Musk said on the call. “So what happens if you don’t actually have a labor shortage? I’m not sure what an economy even means at that point.”
It seems unlikely Optimus will scramble the global economy beyond recognition anytime soon — that might have to wait until Teslas drive themselves and humans populate Mars. But Musk is not alone in holding out hope that machines can save us from labor shortages. I’ve written in the past about a pair of tech startups working to solve hiring headaches for the logistics industry: Outrider Technologies is developing autonomous yard trucks to move trailers from dock to dock at warehouses, and Phantom Auto makes remote operations systems for forklifts, yard trucks and delivery bots.
Both companies are hustling to prove their technology can be a part of the…
