Elon Musk Showed Optimus Folding Laundry, But It Wasn't Autonomous — Now Figure AI Showcases A Robot That Can Do The Same Using 'Neural Net'

On Monday, Figure AI demonstrated its humanoid robot folding laundry autonomously using its advanced Helix neural net, highlighting a significant leap over Tesla Inc.'s (NASDAQ:TSLA) Optimus, which earlier this year showcased using teleoperation for similar tasks.

Figure AI's Humanoid Robot Showcasing Real Autonomous Laundry Tasks

In July, Figure AI CEO Brett Adcock shared video footage of their humanoid robot Figure 02 performing laundry tasks such as picking up clothes and loading them into a washing machine.

The robot cannot operate the washing machine fully on its own yet.

Here's a F.02 in my home, using Helix to do my laundry pic.twitter.com/MXFf1o81EG

— Brett Adcock (@adcock_brett) July 30, 2025

On Monday, Adcock again took to X, formerly Twitter, and said, "For the first time, a humanoid robot can fold laundry using a neural net. We made no changes to the Helix architecture, only new data."

Helix is an AI created by Figure AI that helps humanoid robots understand and carry out complicated tasks by using everyday language and live visual information.

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Adcock said that the same Helix model that handles logistics was applied to laundry folding without modifying the model or training parameters, simply by introducing new datasets.

He added, "Helix learned to maintain eye contact, direct gaze, and use learned hand gestures while engaging with people," underlining the robot's increasing naturalistic interaction capabilities.

For the first time, a humanoid robot can fold laundry using a neural net

We made no changes to the Helix architecture, only new datapic.twitter.com/lSHX4Uc1qA

— Brett Adcock (@adcock_brett) August 12, 2025

Tesla Optimus: Promising But Not Autonomous Yet

Musk's Tesla Optimus robot also showcased laundry folding in a video posted on X earlier this year, but Musk quickly clarified that the demo was not autonomous.

"Optimus cannot yet do this autonomously, but certainly will be able to do this fully autonomously and in an arbitrary environment," Musk said, without specifying a timeline for this capability.

Important note: Optimus cannot yet do this autonomously, but certainly will be able to do this fully autonomously and in an arbitrary environment (won't require a fixed table with box that has only one shirt)

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 15, 2024

At the time, many people on social media scrutinized the Optimus video, accusing Tesla of misrepresenting the robot's current functionality.

Robotics Race: Figure AI Vs. Tesla And Others

Figure 02 is part of a growing wave of humanoid robots aimed at domestic and industrial tasks. Competitors like Boston Dynamics' Atlas focus on industrial applications, while Figure AI also reportedly plans home trials later this year.

Meanwhile, Tesla's Optimus, though lagging in autonomy, is pitched to be a mass-market robot priced under $20,000 eventually.

How Archer Aviation Is Doing, Q2 Results Raise Concerns

Adcock is also the founder of Archer Aviation Inc. (NYSE:ACHR), an all-electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft company.

On Monday, Archer reported a second-quarter loss of 36 cents per share, missing analyst estimates of a 26-cent loss.

The company highlighted ongoing production of six Midnight aircraft across its supply chain, with three currently in final assembly at its facilities.

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Photo Courtesy: NYS on Shuttertsock.com

Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.