Tesla begins Optimus humanoid robot production in California amid 43% quarterly profit slide
Repurposing automotive floor space in Fremont, Tesla claims early production-quality bots while rising AI and robotics capital spending depresses quarterly margins.
Technology news
Tesla has officially commenced initial manufacturing of its Optimus humanoid robot at its main assembly facility in Fremont, California, converting floor space previously dedicated to passenger electric vehicle production into a specialized robotics fabrication cell.
In its third-quarter letter to shareholders, Tesla characterized the units currently rolling off the line as 'the first production-quality bots that we have manufactured,' asserting that its proprietary manufacturing techniques have proven sufficiently mature for commercial scaling. During an accompanying earnings call, CEO Elon Musk acknowledged that the initial production ramp would be deliberate and complex due to the novel mechanical architecture, while reiterating an ambitious long-term target of assembling 20,000 humanoid robots per week by late 2027.
The milestone, however, coincided with severe financial pressure. Tesla reported a steep 43% drop in net quarterly profit, driven by aggressive capital expenditures across compute clusters, autonomous driving infrastructure, and robotics engineering. Automotive revenue remained essentially flat year-over-year at $20 billion, with 486,532 quarterly vehicle deliveries reflecting broader saturation in core EV consumer markets.
Musk stressed that substantial iterative engineering remains necessary before Optimus can transition to unrestricted commercial tasks, citing the need to refine joint durability, battery thermal dissipation, and generalized foundation vision-action models so that units can operate continuously in industrial environments without frequent maintenance cycles.