Despite challenges, Tesla aims to produce 1,000 Optimus robots per week by the end of 2026. The company's shift from manufacturing electric cars to humanoid robots is facing hurdles due to the complexity of robot hands and employee resistance to training their robotic replacements. This struggle to scale up production comes as Tesla CEO Elon Musk has staked the company's future on AI and robotics.
Production Challenges
Musk has described the Optimus humanoid robot as potentially "the biggest product ever" during Tesla’s second-quarter 2026 earnings call. However, he acknowledged that creating an autonomous humanoid robot capable of performing various tasks is "one of the hardest things to solve." Extensive reporting by The Information has revealed multiple complications that Tesla is addressing while developing general-purpose robots and scaling up for mass production.
As of May 2026, Tesla's Fremont factory in California has ceased production of the Model S sedan and Model X SUV, reallocating both line workers and engineers to work on Optimus. The latest version, Optimus V3, has proven difficult from both development and manufacturing perspectives. The Information reports issues with aligning production line equipment and limitations on running the line at high speeds.
Tesla has reportedly scaled up production to hundreds of robots per week but aims to exceed 1,000 robots weekly by the end of 2026. While the automotive industry has utilized specialized industrial robots for decades, Tesla and other companies are betting that humanoid robots, combined with advances in AI, could eventually lead to robots capable of handling a diverse range of tasks in human workplaces.
