Tesla shows off Optimus robot at public event in Berlin

Tesla Inc unveiled its humanoid robot, named Optimus, to the public in Berlin on Saturday.

The machine handed out popcorn at the Christmas market in the LP12 shopping centre, also known as the Mall of Berlin. The robot picked up small popcorn boxes, filled them and handed them to visitors.

A long queue formed at the stand. It remained unclear to what extent Optimus was acting autonomously or was at least partially remote-controlled.

While sales of Tesla's electric cars are likely to decline again this year, Chief Executive Elon Musk has announced that the company's future lies in self-driving "robotaxis," and humanoid robots.

Musk also predicts that in the future there will be more robots than humans in the world. Self-driving cars and robots will bring about a "world without poverty" in which everyone has access to the best medical care. "Optimus will be an incredible surgeon," Musk announced.

Musk said he hopes to start production of the robots by the end of next year.

According to reports, some of the robots are remotely controlled during such demonstrations. A video recently caused a stir online in which an Optimus robot falls backwards like a board at an event in Miami.

Before falling, however, it raises both arms to its head and its movement suggests that a person controlling it remotely took off a pair of 3D glasses. Tesla did not comment on this.