Claim: A Facebook user says Tesla CEO Elon Musk is in the final stages of creating his “robot wife, Catanella.”
Verdict: Untrue. DUBAWA’s search has shown that the images of Elon Musk holding and, in some cases, kissing the purported robot wife were generated by artificial intelligence (AI) technology and are not real.
Also, the CEO of KE Sharp Construction Limited, a South African construction company, Daniel Marven, who first shared the images, said they were designed to demonstrate the danger of artificial intelligence (AI) in the “coming period.”
Full Text
There are claims on social media, particularly Facebook, that Tesla boss Elon Musk is on the verge of completing the design of his robotic wife christened Catanella.
The claims have gone viral, with many people saying Tesla will release robotic wives into the world by the middle of September 2023, with plans to reach Africa by November 2023. See here, here, here, here and here.
“The Robot will cost around $3,144 depending on the specs,” a Facebook page claimed.
Another Facebook user claimed the “robot wife would use batteries that last by a menstrual cycle. It will be designed to have a battery life of one month while being charged for only three days.”
The robot wife is said to have been designed with the personality and characteristics of the woman the Tesla boss dreams of, which do not exist in every normal person.
In light of the considerable attention and controversy sparked by the rumour on social media, DUBAWA decided to research the claim about the ‘robot wife.’
Verification
DUBAWA’s first point of call was to find out if there was any official communication from Tesla on the ‘robot’s wife.’
However, DUBAWA’s searches showed that none of the official accounts of Tesla, its CEO Elon Musk, or any of the companies and subsidiaries of the American vehicle manufacturing giant had published or shared the images circulating on social media.
Further checks by DUBAWA revealed the images were first shared online by Daniel Marven on May 16, 2023.
Mr Marven’s Twitter account shows he is the CEO of KE Sharp Construction Limited, a construction company based in Pretoria, South Africa.
Some international media organisations such as UK’s Mirror and Daily Mail have already published stories about the images of Elon Musk and the robot wife shared online. See here and here.
Mr Marven’s opening statement was a question. He asked, “Elon Musk announces the future wife. Who is she?”
He later claimed,
“It is the first robot that has been manufactured specifically designed with artificial intelligence, with the personality and the characteristics of the female that he dreams of…which is not found in any normal person, because of course, there is no normal person that has all the required specifications.”
“She has a balanced and interactive mindset…so she can share it if she is in a crisis or the feeling that she is experiencing or needs when exposed to psychological stress,” Mr Marven added.
As of May 22, 2023, data available on the social media platform showed the tweet by Mr Marven had been retweeted 63 times, quoted 22 times, liked 216 times, and viewed 89,934 times.
Just when the online community thought the images were authentic and Mr Musk was creating robot wives, Mr Marven revealed the photos were made using artificial intelligence.
Disclosing his intention to share the images, the CEO of KE Sharp Construction Limited said: “The post is to clarify the dangers of AI (artificial intelligence) in the coming period, especially after Tesla Company released the first integrated robot Optimus.”
Also, a careful examination of the images by DUBAWA revealed some anomalies. First, you will notice the differences in the robot’s hair colour and features from one image to another.
Secondly, the gazes of Elon Musk and the robot in some images are not directed in their natural direction. See the image below.
A study by some University of Chicago researchers in 2014 suggests that people tend to visually fixate on their partner’s face when kissing, especially when they claim the image in front of them elicited a feeling of romantic love.
The study, however, showed that when images that evoke sexual desire are concerned, the subject’s eyes move from the face to fixate on the rest of the body.
However, the direction of Elon Musk’s eyes in the image above appeared to be on something other than the person standing before him.
Another observation worth noting is that, in one of the pictures, the Tesla boss is portrayed as a man with a huge belly and flabby body, unlike his actual form and stature.
The above image of the Tesla boss published by NBC News on March 7, 2023, does not show a man with a huge belly and flabby body as depicted in the viral images.
An online modern tech guide, MakeUseOf, has revealed that some bizarre distortions are associated with images created by Artificial Intelligence (AI).
DUBAWA subjected the images to InVid, a photo and video verification tool, and discovered that the images appeared well-composed from a distance.
However, on closer inspection, the faces looked like a smudge of paint.
It would be recalled that in October 2022, Tesla announced it had developed an initial beta model of the humanoid called Optimus. See the video of the announcement as uploaded on the YouTube channel of The Verge starting from minutes 0:45 to 6:02.
DUBAWA’s checks had shown that since that announcement, Tesla had not disclosed any major advancements with the robotic project.
Therefore, it is false that Tesla CEO Elon Musk is creating robotic wives for sale worldwide.
Conclusion
Tesla CEO Elon Musk is not at the final stages of creating his robotic wife, Catanella. Images of Elon Musk kissing and dancing with robotic women were designed with artificial intelligence (AI) technology.
The CEO of KE Sharp Construction Limited, a South African construction company, Daniel Marven, who first shared the images, said they were designed to demonstrate the dangers of artificial intelligence (AI) in the coming days.
