At the annual Tesla shareholder meeting in 2025 on a Thursday, additional information about the humanoid robot Optimus was unveiled. A video shown during the event offered a vivid insight into Tesla employees on the “prototype production line” working on various components and assembling robots. The pilot production line of Optimus is currently operational at our plant in Fremont. A significantly larger Gen 3 production line is slated to launch in 2026. Extensive testing is also being conducted at our factories and office spaces for real-time usage. Our aim is to achieve a production cost of $20,000 per robot with scaling. However, Julian Ibarz, the project lead for artificial intelligence, clarified, “Just to be clear, this is our prototype production line that we are using today for current research and development. The actual scalable production line that will be operational next year will not just be bigger; it will be entirely different.”
Elon Musk identified what he views as the three main challenges of the project: designing the hand and forearm, developing “real artificial intelligence,” and deploying large-scale manufacturing. Previously, he referred to the hand as the “biggest electromechanical problem” and noted that the “immense” manufacturing complexity stems from a “missing” supply chain. Musk stated that Optimus is the sole way to eradicate poverty and provide quality healthcare for everyone.
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