US government continues ban on Chinese technology, now bans the gadgets that Elon Musk once said are Tesla’s biggest competition
The US Federal Communications Commission has banned humanoid robots from China citing “unacceptable risks” to national security. The Trump administration identified human robots as advanced robotic devices that include four-legged quadrupeds, bipeds, and wheeled and tracked vehicles. The move comes as the US government continues to tighten its control on Chinese technology across sectors ranging from telecommunications and drones to artificial intelligence to now humanoid robots. Notably, Elon Musk has previously described China’s humanoid robots as Tesla’s biggest long-term competition.
What US government said on banning China’s humanoid robots
In its determination of the threats posed by robots, FCC said: “As the technology matures, advanced robotic devices have growing use cases in monitoring and securing critical infrastructure. Robots are often equipped with high-fidelity sensors, including Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR), tactile, acoustic, and thermal sensors that collect and maintain sensitive data on their surroundings”.“In addition to securing critical infrastructure, advanced robotic devices also have applications in industrial manufacturing, from material handling to order fulfilment. Integrating these technologies into American manufacturing will lower production costs, increase output, and support America’s reindustrialization. In order for the American economy to rely on these technologies, we must have a secure domestic advanced robotics supply chain and industrial Base,” it further stated.Adding further, the FCC said: “All foreign-produced advanced robotic devices pose an unacceptable risk to the national security of the United States and to the safety and security of U.S. persons and should be included on the FCC’s Covered List, unless the Department of War (DOW) transmits to the FCC a specific determination that a given foreign-produced advanced robotic device, or a class of such devices, does not pose such risks”.
When Elon Musk called China’s humanoid robots as Tesla’s biggest long-term competition
Speaking at the company’s earnings call recently, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said that the electric vehicle maker’s future is increasingly tied to Optimus, humanoid robot program. “My prediction is that Optimus will be the biggest product of all time by far,” Elon Musk said on the call. “Nothing will even be close. I think it’ll be ten times bigger than the next biggest product ever made. That level,” he added.During the earnings, he also acknowledged that Tesla is unlikely to dominate it alone. “I think China will be by far the biggest competitor in the humanoid robot market,” he said adding “China is extremely good at scaling and manufacturing, and is also strong in AI — the models being released there are already quite good and are improving rapidly.”“China’s very good at AI, very good at manufacturing, and will definitely be the toughest competition for Tesla,” Elon Musk said, adding “To the best of our knowledge, we don’t see any significant competitors outside of China, but China will definitely be tough competition, there’s no two ways about it.”
