# Which robotics claims have been retracted?

**A few robotics claims were genuinely walked back; several famous robots were simply discontinued, which is not the same thing.** Two things get confused here. A retraction is a claim made and then withdrawn or corrected: Elon Musk's 2019 promise of a million Tesla robotaxis by 2020, or Sophia's near-human intelligence framing, which its own chief scientist walked back. A discontinuation is a product pulled from the market, like Honda ASIMO or SoftBank Pepper. Those are endings, not retracted claims.

Last verified Apr 17, 2024. 5 sources.

## Short answer

The honest answer starts by separating two things people mix together. A retracted claim is a specific promise or assertion that was made publicly and then withdrawn, revised, or corrected. A discontinued robot is a product that was taken off the market. The second is not the first, and treating a cancelled robot as a broken promise is where a lot of this discussion goes wrong.

The genuine retractions are the ones where the claim itself was walked back. In 2019 Elon Musk said Tesla would have over a million robotaxis on the road by the end of 2020. None appeared, and the full-autonomy date kept moving, so the promise was quietly revised rather than met. Separately, Hanson Robotics presented Sophia in ways that implied a near-human, generally intelligent machine, and its own chief scientist later stated plainly that none of what Sophia does is what he would call artificial general intelligence. In both cases the party that made the claim, or its own people, backed away from it.

The discontinuations are a different category, and this page labels them as such. Honda ended development of ASIMO, its pioneering walking humanoid, reported in 2018. SoftBank stopped producing the social robot Pepper in 2020 after building only about 27,000 units. Boston Dynamics retired its famous hydraulic Atlas in 2024 and replaced it with an electric successor. Each of those was a research robot or a product that reached the end of its run. That is an ending, not a claim that was proven false and retracted.

Everything here is dated and attributed to the press that reported it, so you can see for yourself which entries are walked-back claims and which are simply robots that were retired.

## Claims that were genuinely walked back

Each row is a specific claim that was made publicly and then withdrawn, revised, or corrected by the party that made it or by its own people. Attributed and dated.

| Claim (subject) | What happened | Status | As of | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Sophia the robot: Hanson Robotics presented Sophia in ways that suggested a near-human, generally intelligent machine. | Sophia's own chief scientist, Ben Goertzel, walked the framing back, acknowledging that audiences overestimated the robot and stating plainly that none of what Sophia does is what he would call artificial general intelligence. Experts including Yann LeCun had called the surrounding coverage badly overstated. The sentience framing was corrected by its own creators, not confirmed. | Walked back | Jun 10, 2020 (as reported) | [Unite.AI](https://www.unite.ai/is-hansons-robotics-sophia-robot-using-ai-or-is-it-a-marketing-stunt/) (2020-06-10) |
| Tesla robotaxi timeline: Elon Musk said in 2019 that Tesla would have over a million robotaxis on the road by the end of 2020. | The fleet did not appear. By the end of 2020 not one Tesla robotaxi was operating, and Musk repeatedly pushed the full-autonomy date back in the years that followed. The Drive documented the promise against the reality: a million robotaxis were pledged, and zero had materialized. It is a promise that was quietly revised, not delivered. | Walked back | Apr 22, 2019 (as reported) | [The Drive](https://www.thedrive.com/news/38129/elon-musk-promised-1-million-tesla-robotaxis-by-the-end-of-2020-where-are-they) (2020-12-14) |

## Discontinued robots (not retracted claims)

These robots were retired or pulled from the market. That is an ending, not a claim proven false, so they are listed separately rather than counted as broken promises.

| Claim (subject) | What happened | Status | As of | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Boston Dynamics hydraulic Atlas: The hydraulic Atlas was Boston Dynamics' famous parkour and backflip research robot. | In April 2024 Boston Dynamics retired the hydraulic Atlas and unveiled an all-electric successor the next day. The original Atlas was a research and demonstration platform that was never sold commercially, so its retirement is a product ending, not a walked-back claim. The electric Atlas is being commercialized separately, with early units committed to partners. | Discontinued | Apr 17, 2024 | [TechCrunch](https://techcrunch.com/2024/04/17/boston-dynamics-atlas-humanoid-robot-goes-electric/) (2024-04-17) |
| SoftBank Pepper: Pepper was marketed as the first personal robot that could read emotions, a social robot for homes and shops. | Reuters reported that SoftBank stopped producing Pepper in 2020, with only about 27,000 units built, as the company shrank its robotics business. Pepper struggled to find a lasting customer base. Halting production is a discontinuation of the product, distinct from retracting a specific factual claim. | Discontinued | Jun 28, 2021 (as reported) | [Reuters (via Nippon.com)](https://www.nippon.com/en/news/reu20210628KCN2E419Y/) (2021-06-28) |
| Honda ASIMO: ASIMO was Honda's pioneering bipedal humanoid, shown walking, running, and climbing stairs for two decades. | Honda ended ASIMO development, reported in 2018, redirecting the work toward more practical robots for tasks like elder care and mobility. ASIMO was a research and showcase robot, not a commercial product, so ending its development is a discontinuation rather than a retracted claim. | Discontinued | Jun 29, 2018 (as reported) | [The Robot Report](https://www.therobotreport.com/honda-asimo-robot-discontinued/) (2018-06-29) |

## How we know this

- [Unite.AI](https://www.unite.ai/is-hansons-robotics-sophia-robot-using-ai-or-is-it-a-marketing-stunt/) (2020-06-10)
- [The Drive](https://www.thedrive.com/news/38129/elon-musk-promised-1-million-tesla-robotaxis-by-the-end-of-2020-where-are-they) (2020-12-14)
- [TechCrunch](https://techcrunch.com/2024/04/17/boston-dynamics-atlas-humanoid-robot-goes-electric/) (2024-04-17)
- [Reuters (via Nippon.com)](https://www.nippon.com/en/news/reu20210628KCN2E419Y/) (2021-06-28)
- [The Robot Report](https://www.therobotreport.com/honda-asimo-robot-discontinued/) (2018-06-29)

## Common questions

### What robot claims turned out to be false?

The clearest example is Elon Musk's 2019 claim that Tesla would have over a million robotaxis on the road by the end of 2020. None appeared, and the autonomy timeline was pushed back repeatedly, so the promise was effectively walked back. Separately, the framing of Sophia the robot as near-human intelligence was corrected by its own chief scientist, who said none of it is what he would call artificial general intelligence. Both are attributed to the press and the people involved, not asserted by DEPLOY.

### Is a discontinued robot the same as a retracted claim?

No, and that is the key distinction on this page. A discontinued robot is a product taken off the market or out of development, like Honda ASIMO or SoftBank Pepper. A retracted claim is a specific assertion that was made and then withdrawn or corrected. A robot can be discontinued for ordinary business reasons without anyone having lied, so this page keeps the two groups separate rather than treating every cancelled robot as a broken promise.

### Why was Honda ASIMO discontinued?

Honda ended ASIMO development, reported in 2018, and redirected the underlying work toward more practical robots for tasks such as elder care and mobility. ASIMO was a research and showcase robot rather than a product for sale, so its retirement is a discontinuation. It is not a retracted claim, because Honda was not walking back a specific promise about what ASIMO could do.

### Did Boston Dynamics stop making Atlas?

Boston Dynamics retired its hydraulic Atlas in April 2024 and unveiled an all-electric successor the next day. The original hydraulic Atlas was a research and demonstration platform that was never sold commercially, so its retirement is a product ending rather than a walked-back claim. The company is now commercializing the electric Atlas separately, with early production committed to partners.

### Was Sophia the robot a hoax?

Not a hoax, but its intelligence was widely overstated. Sophia is a real robot that combines scripted responses, a chat system, and some reasoning software. What was corrected was the impression that it is a near-human, generally intelligent being. Its own chief scientist, Ben Goertzel, acknowledged audiences overestimated it and said none of what it does is what he would call artificial general intelligence. So the sentience framing was walked back, while the robot itself is real.

## Keep reading

- [Which physical-AI companies are worth the most? Valuations ranked.](/valuations.md): Comparisons
- [What AI actually drives each robot? AI stacks compared](/ai-stacks.md): Comparisons
- [Which company is the leader in humanoid robotics?](/which-company-leads-humanoid-robotics.md): Comparisons
- [Which country is no. 1 in robotics?](/which-country-is-number-1-in-robotics.md): Comparisons
- [All verified answers](/answers.md): Every standing question DEPLOY tracks.
- [Which robot companies made claims they haven't delivered?](/which-robot-companies-made-claims-they-havent-delivered.md): The wider ledger of undelivered robotics claims, attributed to the press.

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