Tesla starts Optimus 3 production

Elon Musk said Tesla is in the “final stages” of completing Optimus 3 and plans to begin production this summer, according to a recent interview clip circulated on X. Musk said the initial ramp would be slow, then described a follow-on plan in which Optimus 4 is designed next year and produced at higher volume the following summer. Tesla has not published that exact timetable in a regulatory filing or press release, but the company has separately disclosed that it is preparing a large-scale Optimus factory in Fremont. Tesla’s own April 22 first-quarter update said preparations for its first large-scale Optimus factory would begin in the second quarter. The company said the first-generation line, designed for 1 million robots a year, will replace the Model S and Model X lines in Fremont, and that it is also preparing Gigafactory Texas for a second-generation line designed for long-term annual capacity of 10 million units. (teslarati.com) ### So what, exactly, has Tesla confirmed and what comes only from Musk’s interview? Musk’s interview comments are the source for the claim that production starts “this summer,” that the ramp will be slow at first, and that Optimus 4 design will be completed next year with annual upgrades after that. In the same remarks, he said Tesla had not seen comparable robot demonstrations elsewhere and called Optimus 3 the most advanced robot in the world. (assets-ir.tesla.com) Those claims remain Musk’s characterization. Tesla’s formal disclosure is narrower. The April 22 shareholder update confirms factory preparation, a Fremont line sized for 1 million robots a year, and a Texas line aimed at much larger long-term output, but it does not give the same summer-to-summer product cadence Musk described in the interview. ### Where would Optimus actually be built? (teslarati.com) Fremont, California, is the first named site in Tesla’s filings. Tesla said the first-generation Optimus line will replace the Model S and Model X lines there, tying the robot program directly to manufacturing space previously used for passenger vehicles. Tesla’s Fremont factory page still describes the site as a hub for Model S, Model 3, Model X and Model Y production, underscoring that the robot transition is being layered onto an existing vehicle complex. (assets-ir.tesla.com) Gigafactory Texas is the second named site. Tesla said it is preparing that plant for a second-generation Optimus line with a long-term annual capacity target of 10 million units, though the company did not provide a start-of-production date for that facility in the filing. ### Why does the 1 million figure matter? (assets-ir.tesla.com) The 1 million-robot figure is the clearest hard number Tesla has put on the record for Optimus manufacturing. It refers to line design capacity, not current output, and Tesla’s filing says only that preparations begin in Q2. Musk’s separate comment that the initial ramp will be slow is consistent with that distinction between designed capacity and early production. (ir.tesla.com) Tesla has used similar language elsewhere to frame Optimus as part of a broader AI and robotics push. On its AI page, the company says it is pursuing a “general purpose, bi-pedal, autonomous humanoid robot” for unsafe, repetitive or boring tasks. ### Does this imply a hiring and factory shift inside Tesla? Tesla’s careers site already shows Optimus-linked manufacturing roles in Fremont. (assets-ir.tesla.com) One posting for a Manufacturing Engineer, Optimus says the hire would help develop and launch manufacturing equipment for the robot, including moving processes from prototype builds to full-volume production. (tesla.com) Tesla’s April 22 earnings materials also placed Optimus alongside Cybercab, Megapack 3 and the Tesla Semi in the list of lines being prepared for production. That puts the robot program inside the same capital-spending cycle as several of Tesla’s other manufacturing priorities in 2026. ### What should readers watch next? (tesla.com) Q2 2026 is the next concrete checkpoint Tesla has put in writing. That is when the company said preparations for the first large-scale Optimus factory would begin, with Fremont named as the initial site and Gigafactory Texas named for the second-generation line. Musk’s interview points to summer 2026 for the start of Optimus 3 production and next year for completion of the Optimus 4 design. (assets-ir.tesla.com) The next public test will be whether Tesla’s investor materials, factory updates or job postings add dates, output figures or named deployment plans that match that schedule. (teslarati.com)