Tesla says production-quality Optimus robots are coming off its Fremont line
Tesla says its Fremont factory has begun producing Optimus robots as it refines the hardware and manufacturing process. The company has not given a commercial launch date.
Tesla said on October 21 that its Fremont, California, factory had begun producing its first production-quality Optimus humanoid robots, a step toward selling the machines as the company continues to refine their design. Tesla has not said when Optimus will become commercially available, according to Business Insider.
In its third-quarter shareholder letter, Tesla called the robots coming off the line the first production-quality units it has manufactured. The company said it would keep changing the hardware and manufacturing process, while asserting that its current process was suitable for a commercial product. That description establishes what Tesla says it can make; the reports do not establish a production rate or customer shipments.
Why Tesla converted space at Fremont
The Fremont line occupies space previously used to make electric vehicles, TechCrunch reported. Business Insider said Tesla stopped producing the Model S and Model X there earlier this year to make room for Optimus. The line is designed to eventually produce one million robots a year, according to Business Insider; that figure describes its intended capacity, rather than its current output.
Tesla’s ambitions extend beyond California. Business Insider reported that a second Optimus line is under construction in Austin, with a planned annual capacity of 10 million robots. Elon Musk had previously warned that increasing Optimus production would be ‘agonizingly slow,’ the outlet reported. Together, those plans and that warning put the new Fremont production claim in context: Tesla is building toward a much larger manufacturing operation, but has given no commercial availability date.
Robot investment meets weaker quarterly profit
The announcement came alongside a weaker third-quarter result. TechCrunch reported that Tesla’s net income fell 43% to $787 million from $1.37 billion a year earlier. Revenue was broadly flat at $28.04 billion, compared with $28.09 billion in the same quarter of 2025, as spending on artificial intelligence, autonomous driving and Optimus weighed on profit. Lower regulatory credit sales also put pressure on profitability, TechCrunch reported.
Tesla delivered 486,532 vehicles in the quarter, about 6,000 more than in the preceding quarter but fewer than a year earlier, according to TechCrunch. Its services business grew 33% from a year earlier to $4.6 billion and generated a record $734 million in gross profit, the outlet reported. Those figures show why Tesla’s established vehicle and services operations still matter financially while it spends on robots and other new projects.
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Sources and context
- Tesla stars Optimus robot production in California as profit falls 43%TechCrunch
- Tesla's Optimus robots are finally rolling off the production lineBusiness Insider
AI-assisted article checked against the listed sources. NewsJaws did not conduct interviews or attend the reported events.