New drone footage from Giga Texas shows Tesla’s dedicated Optimus factory taking shape, with the building’s steel structure nearing completion as construction continues on the company’s massive North Campus expansion.
Drone operator Joe Tegtmeyer shared updated aerial views of the site on September 17, showing the Optimus building’s steel frame approaching the final stages of assembly. According to Teslarati, the structure is now roughly five column grids away from reaching the north perimeter beam.
Concrete work is also progressing, with three upper floors already poured while crews continue installing rebar and completing footing and grade-beam work below.
The Giga Texas Optimus Factory latest update … construction keeps moving fast!
— Joe Tegtmeyer 🚀 🤠🛸😎 (@JoeTegtmeyer) September 17, 2026
Steel assembly is now only about 5 column grids from the north perimeter beam. Concrete is going in on the three upper floors, rebar is still being laid for more pours, and footing / grade-beam work… pic.twitter.com/qvFPvwnYzW
Tesla broke ground on the dedicated Optimus facility in late March, with the first steel installed in May after the company confirmed construction was underway. The building is part of a larger expansion of more than 5.2 million square feet on the north side of the Texas factory campus.
The future Optimus facility is expected to stretch more than 4,000 feet alongside the existing vehicle factory, although it will be narrower in design.
Tesla has previously outlined ambitious plans for Optimus, with CEO Elon Musk targeting eventual production capacity of up to 10 million units annually at full scale. A separate pilot production line at Fremont has reportedly been producing Gen 3 Optimus units since January, with output focused on collecting real-world data ahead of future larger-scale manufacturing.
As we reported earlier this year, Tesla’s Texas Optimus facility is being built alongside other major projects, including the company’s planned Terafab chip manufacturing operation with SpaceX. The co-location is intended to bring key parts of Tesla’s future AI and robotics supply chain closer together.
Tesla has not announced production has started at the Texas Optimus factory. The company’s previously stated timeline targets high-volume Optimus production at Giga Texas in summer 2027, once construction and additional manufacturing infrastructure are complete.
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