Why human-shaped robots loom large in Musk's Tesla plans

Forrester analyst Brian Hopkins said the falling costs of components, combined with improvements to robot dexterity and AI, was helping to make humanoid robots feasible for a variety of different settings.

"From warehouses and restaurants to elder care and security, new use cases are gaining traction fast," he wrote in a blog post.

"If current trajectories hold, humanoid robots could disrupt many physical-service industries significantly by 2030." One of the many tasks Musk must complete to get his whopping pay deal is to deliver a million AI bots over the next decade.

But is Tesla's big bet on humanoid robots rooted in science fiction or reality?

Big potential

Silicon Valley is gunning hard for humanoids.

A report released by Morgan Stanley on Friday predicted Apple, which is reportedly looking into the robots, could potentially earn $133bn a year from them by 2040. The highly-publicised Neo from tech firm 1X, slated to launch in 2026, can do menial chores like emptying the dishwasher, folding clothes and fetching you items.

It will cost $20,000 but it does come with a caveat - the WSJ reported it was actually controlled by a person wearing a virtual reality headset.