Tesla Begins Optimus Gen 3 Production at Fremont, Deliveries in 2027

Tesla Begins Optimus Gen 3 Production at Fremont, Deliveries in 2027

Tesla has begun building Optimus robots. During Tesla’s Q3 2026 earnings call, Elon Musk said the company has “started what I’d call early production on a high-volume line in Fremont.” In its Q3 shareholders’ deck, Tesla notes that “the bots coming off this line are the first production quality bots that we have manufactured,” adding that the manufacturing process is suitable for a commercial product.

Optimus Production Kicks Off at Fremont

The production line occupies space at Fremont that Tesla opened up by tearing down the Model S and Model X assembly lines this summer, a job it completed in 46 days. Musk said “the vast majority” of the equipment for the line, which is planned for 1 million units per year, has already arrived. An even larger line capable of 10 million units per year is planned for Giga Texas. Initial production is based on the Optimus Gen 3 design; Tesla intends to transition to Gen 4 by the time Giga Texas capacity comes online.

Ramp and Output Expectations

Musk cautioned that early output will follow an S-curve and that the initial phase “has a shallow slope and is somewhat bumpy because it is such a radically new product.” He expects it will take at least a year to reach a rate of 20,000 units per week, noting that parts of the design are still evolving.

When Optimus Will Reach Customers

Musk expects remaining issues with Optimus’ AI, electromechanical design, reliability, and durability to be resolved around the end of next year, which is when Tesla plans to begin deliveries to other companies.

The first customers will likely be industrial users, deploying robots for dangerous, repetitive, around-the-clock tasks. Consumer robots are expected later as volume scales. “I remain convinced that Optimus will be the biggest product on Earth,” Musk said.

AI5 Upgrade and a Real-World Demo

Musk said Tesla may release an Optimus video in a month or two, and he wants it to show tasks that are not pre-programmed rather than a scripted demo. Tesla previously delayed the Optimus Gen 3 unveil for “finishing touches,” and a recent app leak revealed its production design with cleaner joint covers and human-like hands featuring 22 degrees of freedom. A recent patent also describes flexible touch sensors that bring feeling to Optimus’ hands.

The next major step is integrating Tesla’s upcoming AI5 chip into Optimus around April 2027. AI5 is expected to deliver 5x the compute of a full two-chip AI4 computer, which Musk said Optimus needs to manage far more degrees of freedom than a car. Tesla’s AI5 chip entered trial production at Samsung’s Texas fab last month, with mass production planned for next year.

Optimus may now be in production, but initial units will be limited. Even if the ramp proceeds as outlined, the first external industrial customers are not expected to receive robots until the end of 2027.