Mimic Juggling
Tesla’s humanoid robot Optimus appeared at the Tron: Ares premiere beside Jared Leto, performing sleek martial-arts gestures under neon blue light. Observers noticed a nearby operator wearing what appeared to be a VR headset, likely supervising the robot through Tesla’s mixed-reality interface. The event recalled Tesla’s earlier “mirror-mode” lab demo, when an engineer wearing haptic gloves and a VR headset enabled Optimus to mimic human movement live — right down to juggling three balls. The difference is profound: in the lab, Optimus acted as a true telepresence machine; on the red carpet, it served as a symbol of how engineering spectacle now merges with cinematic myth.
Mirror-mode demo -->
Tron: Ares -->
Tesla Optimus at the Tron: Ares premiere, 2025. Public domain imagery via Teslarati and Disney press stills.