Tesla Aims for Customer Deliveries of Optimus by Late 2027

Tesla has initiated the production of its humanoid robot known as Optimus at its Fremont, California factory, as detailed in the company’s quarterly earnings report. CEO Elon Musk mentioned that he expects customer deliveries of Optimus to commence by the end of 2027. It is projected to take at least a year to ramp up production to a target of 20,000 units per week.

Musk acknowledged that there are still aspects of the design that need refinement to ensure the robot is safe, reliable, and has a long operational life. He remarked that the manufacturing process has reached a level deemed appropriate for commercial products, although the early phases of production might encounter some challenges.

One significant hurdle highlighted by Musk is the development of robotic hands. Additionally, Tesla plans to establish an “Optimus Academy” where robots will rehearse tasks and collect data aimed at enhancing the artificial intelligence models that drive them. The company also intends to integrate its next-generation AI5 chip into Optimus by April, which Musk believes will significantly augment the robots’ intelligence.

While the latest model of Optimus has yet to be revealed, Musk expects to share a video showcasing the robot within the next month or two. He had previously indicated that the robotic design was kept confidential to prevent competitors from replicating it.

To accommodate the new production line for Optimus, Tesla ceased manufacturing the Model S and Model X earlier this year at the Fremont facility, which is set to eventually have a capacity to produce one million robots annually. A second line currently under development in Austin aims to reach an annual output of ten million robots.

Tesla faces competition in the humanoid robotics sector from various entities, including Agility Robotics, Figure AI, Sunday Robotics, 1X, and Weave Robotics, with several companies preparing to deploy robots for domestic and commercial use this fall.