Setback
Musk said Tesla would start delivering Optimus to outside customers around the end of 2027, saying the hands, durability and AI still needed work first.
A delay, pause or setback · Company-reported
What the source says
“Elon Musk now says Tesla will start delivering Optimus humanoid robots to outside customers around the end of 2027.”
What it means
Optimus, from Tesla, is at stage 1 of 5 on our ladder: demo only. A setback stays on the record next to the milestones; the stage moves down only when the rules say so. This line rests on the company's own announcement; no regulator, customer or independent report confirms it in our sources yet.
Human help: The maker hasn't said whether people help it remotely.
More on Optimus
- Tesla said it had started making what it called its first production-quality Optimus robots at its Fremont, California factory, with Musk calling it early production and warning of a slow ramp.
- Tesla reportedly plans to lease Optimus, not sell it, to a short list of companies.
- Tesla went from a few dozen robots a week in the spring to several hundred a week in August 2026, The Information reported. These are V3 robots, not yet the version Tesla plans to sell.
- Tesla stopped making its Model S and Model X cars in early May 2026 and turned that Fremont line over to Optimus, according to The Information.
- Musk admitted that no Optimus robots were yet doing useful work at Tesla.
- Optimus robots mingled with guests at Tesla's 'We, Robot' event. Bloomberg's sources said staff working remotely oversaw many of those interactions.