Optimus is the humanoid robot that Tesla first announced as the Tesla Bot on August 19, 2021, and Tesla's October 2026 shareholder update says production has begun on its Fremont, California, lines. Tesla's annual report for fiscal 2025 still describes Optimus as "in development" and says the company has yet to commercialize robots, and the updates read for this page give no sales price, customer list, or production count.
Key takeaways
- At the 2021 announcement Tesla gave a height of 5 feet 8 inches, a weight of 125 pounds, and a promised prototype for 2022.
- The 2022 prototype shown on stage could not walk on its own, and Musk estimated a unit cost of USD 20,000 at that event.
- Tesla's January 2026 update planned production before the end of 2026 and a capacity of 1 million robots per year; the Q3 2026 update says production has begun.
- Capacity figures are design targets. Tesla's own update says installed capacity does not equal the current production rate.
- No source reviewed offers independent measurements of what Optimus can do.
The 2021 and 2022 announcements
At Tesla AI Day on August 19, 2021, Tesla described a humanoid robot that stood 5 feet 8 inches (about 173 centimeters), weighed 125 pounds (about 57 kilograms), could deadlift 150 pounds (about 68 kilograms), and could walk at 5 miles per hour (about 8 kilometers per hour). News coverage reported that a prototype was expected the following year. Musk described the intended use as work that people least like to do, such as grocery shopping.
The next AI Day took place on September 30, 2022. Coverage by InsideEVs describes a bipedal robot called Bumble C, built from off-the-shelf actuators, that walked on stage without tethers. A second unit, described as an actual Optimus prototype made with Tesla's own battery, actuators, and electronics, was wheeled in and could not walk by itself. The same report says Musk estimated an eventual cost of USD 20,000 per unit. These were statements made at a company event, not measurements.
What the annual report says
Tesla's annual report on Form 10-K for fiscal 2025, filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in January 2026, describes Optimus as "a general purpose, autonomous humanoid robot in development." Its risk section is blunt about the stakes. It says growth depends in part on commercializing robots in "a nascent industry that has yet to develop commercially," that Tesla has yet to commercialize them, that it cannot predict demand from commercial or consumer applications, and that there is no guarantee the business will succeed. Risk factors in an SEC filing are legal disclosures and tend to be more cautious than event presentations.
Timeline from the shareholder updates
| Update | What Tesla stated about Optimus |
|---|---|
| Q4 and fiscal 2025, January 2026 | Plan to unveil a third-generation version in the first quarter of 2026, described as the first design meant for mass production; production start planned before the end of 2026; eventual planned capacity of 1 million robots per year |
| Q1 2026, April 2026 | First-generation line, designed for 1 million robots a year, to replace the Model S and Model X lines in Fremont; a second-generation line designed for long-term capacity of 10 million robots a year being prepared at Gigafactory Texas |
| Q2 2026, July 2026 | Lines being installed; initial builds to be used in an "Optimus Academy" for training data collection and functionality development |
| Q3 2026, October 21, 2026 | Production began in Fremont on high-volume lines; the first production-quality bots; Fremont status listed as "Early Ramp" and Texas as "Construction" |
The Q3 update adds that Tesla has proven the current manufacturing process is suitable for a commercial product, while it will keep iterating on hardware and process. It does not state a number of robots built, a price, or a date when outside customers can buy one. The third-generation unveiling planned for early 2026 was not confirmed in the text read for this page.
Reading capacity numbers
Figures such as 1 million or 10 million robots per year are annual capacities the lines are designed for. Tesla's own footnote in each update says installed capacity is not the current production rate, and that rates depend on equipment uptime, component supply, factory upgrade downtime, and regulatory considerations. A design target says what a factory could do after a ramp, not what it has done.
A fair test of progress would use numbers Tesla has not yet given: units shipped, tasks completed per hour, hours between failures, and cases of use outside Tesla's own factories. Until such figures exist, the more cautious reading is that a production line exists and the product is early.
Checklist for reading robot announcements
- Is the statement a plan, a design target, or a delivered count?
- Does the figure come from a securities filing, a shareholder update, or a stage presentation?
- Does a price come with a date and a named customer?
- Has anyone outside the company measured performance?
- Has an earlier promise, such as the 2022 prototype, been checked against what was shown?
FAQ
Is Optimus on sale?
The Q3 2026 update announces the start of production in Fremont but gives no price or sale date in the text read. The annual report says the company has yet to commercialize robots.
How much will Optimus cost?
No current price has been published in the sources reviewed. The only figure is a USD 20,000 per-unit estimate that Musk gave in September 2022 for eventual mass production.
Is the Tesla Bot the same thing as Optimus?
Yes. The 2021 concept was called the Tesla Bot, and the 2022 prototype and later versions carry the Optimus name.
What will Optimus do?
Tesla describes it as a general purpose robot. The 2026 updates mention training data collection in a program called Optimus Academy, but no document reviewed lists tasks done for outside customers.
Related reading
- Tesla's driver-assistance software and federal records
- Legal frameworks for autonomous ships
- Baidu's chatbot, profiled
- How Telegram bots work
More in AI Tools and Industry.
Last verified: October 2026
Sources
- Annual Report on Form 10-K for fiscal year 2025, Tesla, Inc., filed with the SEC, January 2026
- Q4 and FY 2025 Update, Tesla, Inc., January 2026
- Q1 2026 Update, Tesla, Inc., April 2026
- Q2 2026 Update, Tesla, Inc., July 2026
- Q3 2026 Update, Tesla, Inc., October 2026
- Top highlights of Elon Musk's Tesla AI Day, August 19, 2021
- Tesla Humanoid Robot Prototype Walks Onto The Stage At AI Day 2022, InsideEVs, October 1, 2022