Tesla Reportedly Can't Get the Hands to Work on Its Optimus Robot

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Not Optimal

Yet another harsh reality check.

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By Victor Tangermann

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Tesla's humanoid robot

Christoph Soeder/picture alliance via Getty Images

Earlier this year, news emerged that Tesla’s factory in Fremont, California was being converted from a facility manufacturing its Model S and X EVs to focus on building its Optimus humanoid robot instead.

It was the latest sign yet that Tesla CEO Elon Musk was making good on his threat of abandoning car sales in favor of both AI and the company’s bipedal, black-masked assistant. The latest reality check flies in the face of Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s characteristically boisterous predictions. He promised in 2024 to have a “thousand to a couple thousand robots working in its factories” by 2025. Then, in January 2025, he said that Tesla would build roughly 10,000 Optimus robots by the end of last year, many of which would be “doing useful things.”

Now, Tesla is targeting 20,000 units a week. But considering The Information‘s latest reporting, Musk’s EV maker has a massive amount of catching up to do — let alone convincing customers to spend huge amounts of money on humanoid robots.

More on Optimus: Elon Musk Says His Optimus Robot Is So Dope That People Will Forget Tesla Ever Made Cars