Chelsea, Elon and Tony: San Francisco lets you hire humanoid robot to clean your home for $30 an hour but there's a catch

Are you too tired to clean your home? Imagine coming home after work to find a humanoid robot vacuuming the floor, wiping kitchen counters and taking out the trash. That is no longer just a scene from a science-fiction movie but a reality for San Francisco residents.

Tau Robotics has launched a pilot service allowing households to hire humanoid robots for $30 an hour. The service is currently invite-only, with the company initially opening it to as many as 1,000 households.

ALSO READ: Jamie Dimon recalls being fired by Citigroup and surviving a near-fatal heart emergency: JPMorgan CEO says the setback “affected my net worth, not my self-worth”

Humanoid robots can now be hired to clean homes

The robots, developed by Tau Robotics, are designed to handle everyday household chores, including vacuuming, cleaning surfaces, unloading dishes and taking out the trash. The machines wear black Tau Robotics uniforms and have been given names including Chelsea, Elon and Tony. Each robot costs around $50,000 to build, according to reports.

San Francisco residents can hire these humanoid robots rather than purchasing them. The price is $30 for one humanoid robot for 60 minutes, while hiring two robots costs $60 an hour.

ALSO READ: China man sells his house, buys land, and collects seeds from China and overseas to turn wife’s childhood flower memory into world’s largest hollyhock garden

CEO Alexander Koch announced the service on X, writing, “You can now book two humanoids for our cleaning service in SF. One humanoid for 60 minutes is $30, two are $60." The price is particularly interesting when compared with San Francisco’s minimum wage, which is currently $19.61.

“A human is always supervising the AI and guiding it at different levels." In other words, there is still a person behind the scenes helping the robot navigate the job.

‘Initially, they will be trained to imitate human performance’

Tau Robotics CEO and co-founder Alexander Koch said the company is using artificial intelligence to train the humanoid robots to perform household tasks.

“Initially, they will be trained to imitate human performance, and then they will be trained to exceed human performance,” Koch told CBS News.

ALSO READ: Quote of the day by Khalil Gibran: "Tenderness and kindness are not signs of weakness and despair, but manifestations..."

The robots aren't being marketed merely as automated vacuum cleaners. The goal is to develop machines capable of handling a broader range of chores that normally require a person.

But there is a catch

The futuristic cleaning service isn't yet something anyone in San Francisco can simply book on demand. Tau Robotics' service is currently invite-only, and interested residents have to join a waitlist.

The company also has much bigger plans. Koch said Tau wants to scale up to 1,000 cleanings a week in San Francisco by 2027, before expanding into other US cities and international markets in 2028.

The internet isn't entirely convinced

While the idea of having a humanoid robot handle household chores sounds convenient, it also raises an obvious question: are these robots actually ready to replace human cleaners?

CBS News reported that the robots are not quite there yet, despite their impressive demonstrations. Their current role is better understood as an emerging experiment in AI-powered domestic work rather than a complete replacement for human housekeepers.

Still, the $30-an-hour humanoid robot cleaning service in San Francisco offers a glimpse of where home automation could be heading. For now, the future of household chores may look less like a robotic maid arriving permanently at your doorstep—and more like booking an AI-powered cleaner by the hour.