Tesla Shares New Optimus Image, Hints at Production Shift
Tesla shared a new image of its Optimus humanoid robot on Valentine's Day, renewing public interest in the project's development. The release coincided with social media discussions suggesting that Tesla should halt production of its Model S and X vehicles to prioritize building the Optimus robot and the planned Cybercab. The new image was shared directly by the company's account, suggesting a continued focus on the robotics program for 2026.
- To facilitate the production ramp-up, Tesla is ceasing production of its Model S and Model X vehicles to repurpose that factory space in Fremont for Optimus manufacturing. The company plans to invest over $20 billion in capital expenditures for 2026 to support its AI, robotaxi, and Optimus projects. - The leadership of the Optimus program has seen changes, with former director Milan Kovac resigning in June 2025 and Ashok Elluswamy, the head of Tesla's Autopilot software team, taking charge, signaling a deep integration with the company's core AI efforts. - Tesla's training strategy for Optimus has shifted to a vision-only approach, using videos of humans performing tasks to train a single neural network, rather than relying on traditional teleoperation or motion capture suits. This leverages the same AI infrastructure and end-to-end learning approach developed for its Full Self-Driving (FSD) vehicle software. - The latest generation of the robot, Optimus Gen 3, stands 5'8" tall, weighs 57kg, and features highly dexterous, 22-degree-of-freedom hands with tactile sensors. Elon Musk has stated a long-term price target of under $30,000 per unit to achieve mass-market adoption. - Elon Musk's production goals have been adjusted over time; after initially targeting thousands of units in 2025, the current timeline aims for mass production to begin by the end of 2026. The long-term vision is to produce millions of units annually, with Musk suggesting the robot could eventually self-replicate like a Von Neumann probe. - The push into humanoid robots places Tesla in competition with other major players like Boston Dynamics, which is deploying its all-electric Atlas in Hyundai factories, and Figure AI, which is backed by OpenAI. The market is seeing rapid growth, particularly from companies in the US and China.
