Tesla CEO Elon Musk says the electric vehicle maker's upcoming humanoid robot, Optimus, also known as the Tesla Bot, can help solve labor shortages, particularly the one the U.S. is currently experiencing. The tech billionaire described the humanoid robot, which was unveiled during Tesla AI Day in August 2021, as the "most important product development we're doing this year" during the company's earnings call Wednesday. Moreover, he said it might be the solution to the labor shortage the U.S. is facing at the moment. "The foundation of the economy is labor [and] capital equipment is distilled labor," Musk said.