Tesla Optimus early production begins amid 1M unit line push

Elon Musk provided an update on Tesla Optimus humanoid robot production during remarks shared on October 21, 2026, noting that early production has begun while highlighting remaining technical hurdles before wider deployment.

According to the statement shared by Sawyer Merritt on X, the growth trajectory follows an S-curve with a shallow initial slope. The vast majority of a one-million-unit-per-year production line is already installed at the Fremont facility, though design tweaks are still required. Substantial work remains on the robot AI, with Musk expecting resolutions to AI capabilities, electromechanical design, reliability, and usage life by the end of the following year. Musk tempered expectations by stating it will take about a year to address these issues but reiterated his view that Optimus will become the biggest product on Earth.