Tesla has started production of its Optimus humanoid robot on a high-volume line at its Fremont factory, according to its Q3 2026 earnings report. However, CEO Elon Musk says it will take about a year, maybe a little longer, before the line reaches its targeted rate of 20,000 robots per week.
In its Q3 2026 Update, Tesla says the bots coming off the Fremont line are the first Optimus robots it has made to production standard, and that its current process is ready for a commercial product.
As we previously reported, Tesla dismantled the former Model S/X line at Fremont in just 46 days to make room for Optimus production.
More recently, Musk acknowledged ongoing challenges with Optimus, including difficulties with its hands and restrictions on Chinese rare-earth magnets.
During Wednesday’s earnings call, Musk said Tesla has “started like what I’d call early production on our high volume line in Fremont,” and that “the vast majority of a million unit per line production line” has landed there.
“I would expect that it takes us probably at least a year maybe a little longer to get to that annualized rate to get to 20,000 units a week,” Musk said. He noted that around 10,000 things have to go right, describing the early part of the ramp as shallow and bumpy because Optimus is “such a radically new product.”
Tesla also plans to “integrate the Tesla AI5 chip into Optimus which if things go according to plan will be in approximately April of next year,” according to Musk, adding that the chip brings far more compute than AI4. Tesla has trimmed AI5 memory for Optimus.
Musk expects Tesla to work through the robot’s remaining design, reliability and lifespan problems by roughly the end of 2027, the point at which it would start supplying Optimus to outside companies. He said early uses will be industrial, focused on dangerous, repetitive tasks that need to be done around the clock.
Before then, Musk said Tesla wants to release a video showing Optimus performing tasks that aren’t pre-programmed, which could be “maybe a month or two” away.
“I remain convinced that Optimus will be the biggest product on earth,” Musk said. With production underway at Fremont and a second Optimus factory under construction in Texas, Tesla’s next challenge is proving it can build reliable humanoid robots at scale.
Related Articles:
- Tesla Dismantles Model S/X Line in Just 46 Days to Make Room for Optimus Production
- Tesla Optimus production faces challenges as Musk targets 2027 launch
- Tesla cuts AI5 memory for Optimus, but not as much as originally planned
- Tesla Optimus Factory Build Accelerates Ahead Of 2027 Production Target
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