Tesla said preparations for Tesla's Optimus line would begin in Q2, with Optimus V3 likely shown in late July or August this year.
Tesla’s (TSLA) and CEO Elon Musk’s Optimus robot dreams may soon be a reality.
Tesla said in its Q1 earnings report that preparations for the company's first large-scale Optimus factory “will begin shortly in Q2.”
The first-generation production line will be located at Tesla’s Fremont plant, where the Model S and Model X assembly lines will be converted for Optimus production. Tesla says this line could potentially produce 1 million robots per year, which seems like the kind of lofty target Musk is known for making.
Gigafactory Texas will eventually house a second-generation Optimus line, with an even more audacious long-term target of 10 million robots a year.
Site for Tesla's Optimus factory near Gigafactory Texas. Tesla says this site, when complete, will have an annual run rate of 10 million robots. · Tesla Q1 Shareholder deck
Musk has big plans for Tesla, even beyond its own factory floors, where Optimus is planned to work on battery construction and other tasks.
"We'll probably have Optimus useful outside of Tesla sometime next year," he said, though vague enough to give him and Tesla some cover.
Tesla is racing to establish that commercial beachhead before the field becomes crowded. Competitors from Figure to Boston Dynamics and a raft of Chinese manufacturers are accelerating their own programs.
Embodied AI, or physical AI, is something Tesla has spent years building — from AI data centers and training clusters to train FSD, to robotics infrastructure to build robots powered by Tesla software, and eventually, in-house-made chips.
A Tesla Optimus robot walks during an appearance outside the Nasdaq Market site in New York City, U.S., October 27, 2025. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
The company has described Optimus as a single AI layer that powers both its vehicles and robots.
Doubts remain, however. Optimus robots seen at Tesla events are still not “working” on Tesla’s factory floors, and Tesla has yet to show the next generation of Optimus, dubbed V3, even though it was slated for April release.
The Optimus V3 reveal will likely be pushed to the “late July/August” timeframe, around the start of production, Musk said, adding that he didn’t want to reveal the design or other Optimus IP to competitors.
Musk and Tesla believe Optimus could be a multi-trillion-dollar opportunity, with Musk previously claiming there would be one or two robots for every human on Earth.
Wall Street is bullish on robotics, though not as exuberant as Musk.
“While we don't expect any significant near-term contribution from Optimus, we see potential long-term opportunity, and our team forecasts global humanoid robot shipments of 1.2mm/10mm globally by 2030/2035,” Bank of America’s Alexander Perry wrote earlier this week.
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