This is The Stepback, a weekly newsletter breaking down one essential story from the tech world. For more on robotics and AI, follow Robert Hart. The Stepback arrives in our subscribers' inboxes at 8AM ET. Opt in for The Stepback here. We're taking a winter break! The Stepback will be back on January 11th, 2026. Meanwhile, you catch up on past issues here. How it started I have a soft spot for robot fail videos. I watch them on a loop, chuckling to myself, as a kind of therapy. Maybe I'm a sadist, maybe I need to get out more - you can judge me later - but they get me every time. So naturally, I've been glued to a clip of Tesla's Optimus … Read the full story at The Verge. ...read more read less