As of October 4, 2026, Tesla has not sold an Optimus humanoid robot, has not published a price, and has not publicly unveiled its next-generation V3 model. What Tesla has confirmed is that it is installing production lines for the first-generation Optimus at its Fremont, California factory and plans to use the first robots for internal data collection. Reported production numbers come from media citing non-public sources, not from Tesla.
Quick answers
- Is Optimus for sale? No. Tesla has not announced external sales.
- What does it cost? Not publicly disclosed. Tesla has not published a price.
- Is it in production? Tesla’s July 2026 report says lines are being installed and production is expected in 2026. Reports say limited builds are underway; Tesla has not confirmed volumes.
- When is V3 coming? Tesla has not given a date. On April 22, Elon Musk said the reveal would be “probably middle of this year”; we found no public unveil as of October 4.
What Tesla has confirmed
Tesla’s Q2 2026 shareholder update, dated July 22, 2026, is the most recent primary source on Optimus. It states:
| Topic | What Tesla said |
|---|---|
| Fremont factory | The Model S and Model X lines were decommissioned and Tesla is “installing the first-generation lines for Optimus, where we expect to start production soon.” |
| Where early robots go | “The initial Optimus builds will be used in our Optimus Academy for training data collection and further functionality development.” |
| Timing | First-generation production lines are being installed “in anticipation of production in 2026.” |
| Texas | Under Robotics, Tesla says it “continued site development at Gigafactory Texas with building construction now in full swing”; its capacity table lists Optimus in Texas as “Construction.” |
| Numbers, price, customers, specifications | Not disclosed in the update. |
What has been said on earnings calls
These are statements by Tesla’s CEO, as reported by Electrek from the earnings calls. They are plans, not results.
- January 28, 2026: Musk said Optimus is “still in the R&D phase” and “not in usage in our factories in a material way,” while saying Optimus had done “some basic tasks in the factory.” He added that significant production volume was not expected until “probably the end of this year.” (The headline “no useful work” is Electrek’s characterization; Musk did not use those words.)
- April 22, 2026: Musk said production at Fremont would begin in late July or August and would be “quite slow” at first, that a second Optimus factory at Giga Texas was expected around summer 2027, and that the Gen 3 reveal was “probably middle of this year.”
For comparison, Musk said in January 2025 that Tesla planned about 10,000 Optimus units that year. Tesla has not reported how many were built.
What has been reported but not confirmed
On September 25, 2026, Electrek summarized a report from The Information (paywalled) about the Fremont ramp. Tesla has not confirmed any of these figures.
| Reported claim | Source | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Output of several hundred robots per week in August, up from dozens per week in Q2 | The Information via Electrek | Unconfirmed by Tesla |
| Target of more than 1,000 per week by year-end | Same | Unconfirmed by Tesla |
| Longer-term target of about 20,000 per week | Same | Unconfirmed by Tesla |
| Robots being built are V3 units, not the commercial version | Same | Unconfirmed by Tesla |
| Hand and joint assembly is labor-intensive and a bottleneck | Same | Unconfirmed by Tesla |
| Robots still struggle to generalize beyond trained tasks | Same | Unconfirmed by Tesla |
What is not disclosed
- Price: Not publicly disclosed. Past remarks about long-term price targets are aspirations, not a Tesla price list.
- Specifications of the current robot (height, weight, payload, battery life): Not publicly disclosed for the version now being built. Be cautious with spec sheets on third-party sites; they typically describe earlier prototypes or estimates.
- Customers or external sales: none announced.
- Autonomy versus teleoperation in Tesla’s demonstrations: Tesla has not published a breakdown. Past public demos have not always made this clear.
How to read Optimus claims
Use three questions: Is it in a Tesla filing or on a Tesla page? Is it a Musk statement about the future? Or is it a report from unnamed sources? This article keeps those separate. For how humanoids are trained and why data collection matters, see our explainers on humanoid robot training, dexterous robot hands, and humanoid locomotion systems. Our Tesla Optimus profile covers the background.
What to watch next
- Tesla’s Q3 2026 update and earnings call: Tesla has said it will post results after market close on Wednesday, October 21, 2026, with a Q&A webcast at 5:30 p.m. ET.
- Any public unveil of V3, and whether Tesla publishes specifications.
- Whether Tesla discloses unit counts or external customers.
- Progress on the Giga Texas Optimus building.
Frequently asked questions
When will Tesla Optimus be available to buy?
Tesla has not announced a date for external sales. It says production lines are being installed ahead of production in 2026, and early robots are for internal data collection.
How much will Optimus cost?
Tesla has not published a price. Figures on other sites are estimates or speculation.
Is Optimus working in Tesla factories?
Not in a material way, by Musk’s own January 2026 account: he said Optimus was “not in usage in our factories in a material way.” Tesla’s July 2026 update says the initial builds will be used for training data collection and further functionality development. A report cited by Electrek says units working in Tesla factories are confined to tightly controlled, supervised areas and specific tasks; Tesla has not confirmed that.
Related reading
- What is a humanoid robot? Definition, types and 2026 examples
- Best humanoid robots in 2026: specs, prices and evidence tiers
Sources
- Tesla, “Q2 2026 Update,” July 22, 2026: ir.tesla.com (PDF)
- Tesla, Form 8-K (Q3 2026 results date), October 2, 2026: sec.gov
- Electrek, “Tesla ramps Optimus to hundreds a week, but the robots can’t generalize,” September 25, 2026 (citing The Information): electrek.co
- Electrek, “Tesla pushes Optimus V3 reveal later this year – again,” April 22, 2026: electrek.co
- Electrek, “Musk admits no Optimus robots are doing ‘useful work’ at Tesla” (Electrek’s headline; quotes from the Q4 2025 call), January 28, 2026: electrek.co
Last updated: October 4, 2026. This page is revised after each Tesla earnings update or Optimus announcement. To report an error, see our corrections page. Articles are drafted with AI assistance and reviewed and edited by an editor; see our editorial policy.
