Tesla said on Wednesday it has begun producing Optimus humanoid robots at its Fremont, California, factory, a site previously dedicated to electric vehicle manufacturing.
“The robots coming off this line are the first mass-production-grade robots we have built,” Tesla wrote in its third-quarter shareholder letter. “While we will continue to improve the hardware and manufacturing process, we have proven that Optimus’ current manufacturing process is suitable for a commercial product.”
CEO Elon Musk said on a conference call that he views the output as “early production” and that the ramp will be slow and “somewhat bumpy, because it is an extremely aggressive new product.” He said Tesla aims to produce 20,000 Optimus robots per week by the end of 2027.
“There are still some design changes we need to make, because you need to deliver a robot that is safe, reliable and has a long service life, so it doesn’t wear out after a month,” he said. “And there is still a lot of work to do on AI and robotics to truly be used for open-ended tasks.”
The forward-looking development did not rescue Tesla’s otherwise lackluster third-quarter results, a pattern typical of a company making major bets. Revenue was flat while expenses surged as Tesla accelerates work on Optimus, artificial intelligence and autonomous driving.
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