Elon Musk said Friday that he will likely launch a prototype humanoid robot next year, dubbed the "Tesla Bot," that is designed to do "boring, repetitive and dangerous" work, according to "The Guardian".

The billionaire responsible for creating the company that makes electric cars said that the robot, which would be about 1.7m tall and weigh 56kg, would be able to handle tasks such as attaching bolts to cars with a wrench or buying food.

According to Musk, the robot could have "profound implications for the economy" by filling labor gaps created by labor shortages. The Canvas creator considers it important that the new machine was not "super-face" and stressed that its launch could take place next year.

Musk's announcement comes at the same time that an investigation is underway into the safety of Tesla's autonomous driving software.

On Monday, the U.S. government opened an investigation into Tesla's driver assistance system, known as Autopilot, after a string of emergency vehicle crashes.

The investigation covers 765,000 vehicles, almost all of which Tesla has sold in the US since the start of the 2014 model year. In the accidents identified by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration as part of the investigation 17 people were injured and one was killed.