Tesla's Fremont Line Ships First Production-Quality Optimus Units

Tesla has started assembling Optimus units on a high-volume line at its Fremont factory, and the company states these are the first units built to a production standard. In its third quarter shareholder letter, Tesla wrote that it has "proven that the current manufacturing process for Optimus is suitable for a commercial product." The line occupies floor space that assembled Model S and Model X vehicles until this spring.

Tesla cleared that vehicle line in 46 days to install robot production capacity sized for one million units annually. On Wednesday's earnings call, Elon Musk said most of the equipment for that capacity is already at Fremont. He said output will ramp toward roughly 20,000 robots per week. Musk described the ramp as an S curve with a shallow initial slope.

Tesla is training Optimus through an internal program it calls an Optimus Academy. Musk said the company lacks the large fleet of vehicles that supplies driving data to its car software. Under the program, 10,000 to 20,000 robots will practice tasks and feed results into the next model version. Every unit from the Fremont line contributes that data.

Musk said Tesla expects to finish work on the robot's AI, electromechanical design, reliability and service life by the end of next year. Tesla plans to begin delivering Optimus to outside companies for dangerous, repetitive and around-the-clock jobs at that point. Tesla also plans to install its AI5 chip in Optimus next year.

Musk said a new Optimus video should arrive within one or two months showing the robot completing tasks through AI rather than preprogrammed motions. He said rival humanoid demonstrations that run scripted routines would not hold up in real-world conditions.