TL;DR: Tesla deployed its Optimus humanoid to greet runners and pose for photos at the Boston Marathon, scoring a massive, free marketing win.
Tesla just pulled off a masterclass in free marketing. Instead of dropping millions on ads, they sent their Optimus humanoid robot straight to the Boston Marathon finish line.
The bot didn’t run the race, obviously. It spent the day greeting exhausted runners and posing for selfies. But honestly, that’s exactly the kind of public exposure humanoid robotics needs right now to shake off the sci-fi fear factor.
Look, seeing a faceless metal humanoid in a lab is terrifying. Seeing one high-five a sweaty marathoner? That normalizes the tech. And it proves Tesla’s marketing playbook still works beautifully without spending a dime.