On September 25, 2026, Electrek reported that Tesla built several hundred Optimus robots a week in August. The piece cites The Information as Tesla did not answer the request for comment. The weekly count comes from people familiar with the project, and Tesla has not confirmed it.
The ramp is at the Fremont factory, on the line that used to build the Model S and the Model X, after Tesla ended production of those two vehicles in early May. Managers reportedly want a continuous automated line able to build more than 1,000 robots a week by the end of 2026, with a later target of about 20,000 a week. Both figures are capacity goals.
Most of these machines stay inside Tesla for testing, training, and data collection. Robots used in the factories stay in tightly controlled areas, where they run specific tasks under supervision rather than working as general-purpose staff. The units on the line are Optimus V3, which sources said is not the version Tesla plans to commercialize, because that later version still has to clear stricter durability and reliability tests.
The hand-and-forearm assembly holds more than 100 screws and other small components combined, and workers still assemble those pieces by hand. Some touch sensors have had reliability problems, and a replaceable sensing glove is the reported fix, with use planned for 2027. The software has a matching limit. Three people familiar with the system said basic tasks can still take days to learn, and the robot can act unpredictably in situations it has not trained on.
Tesla's reported plan is to lease the first robots rather than sell them, starting with companies whose factories or warehouses resemble Tesla's own. No signed leases or delivery dates were announced. An East Texas office or plant should not budget a humanoid into this year's work. A machine that still needs days of training for one narrow task is a pilot, not a stand-in for staff.
Lindale companies can keep this on a watch list rather than a purchase list. A Free Assessment is a good time to discuss business processes that could be automated and to list the tasks current equipment already covers. Call My I.T. Consultants at 903-675-5431. Hourly work is handled during posted weekday hours, and contract clients are covered around the clock.
Photo: Tesla Optimus on indoor display, November 18, 2025, by Sikander Iqbal via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0. Cropped, with a text plate added. This is a showroom display, not the Fremont production line.
