Tesla to open Optimus robot reservations, investor says

Tesla ↘ 0.87% has started building its Optimus humanoid robot on a high-volume line at its Fremont, California, factory. The company is also expected to let the public reserve the robot for the first time in early December. Elon Musk has cautioned, though, that full-scale production is at least a year away and that outside customers won't receive robots until around the end of 2027.

A slow ramp

In its third-quarter 2026 shareholder update, released October 21, Tesla said it "started production of Optimus on our high-volume lines in Fremont." It called these "the first production-quality bots we've built" and said they prove its manufacturing process is "suitable for a commercial product." Tesla did not say how many robots it has built. Its capacity table lists the Fremont line as being in an "early ramp," with no capacity figure, according to The AI Insider.theaiinsider.tech+1

On the earnings call, Musk said most of a production line designed for 1 million units a year is already in Fremont. But he said reaching 20,000 units a week will take "probably at least a year, maybe a little longer," because "there's still parts of the design that are changing". He told Business Insider the robot "can't wear out after a month," and named the hands as one of the hardest engineering problems. He also said he wanted to "temper expectations".investors.com+2

Musk expects the remaining issues with the AI, the design and how long the robot lasts to be solved around the end of next year. He said that is when Tesla would start delivering Optimus to other companies, beginning with dangerous or repetitive industrial work. Tesla stopped making the Model S and Model X earlier this year to free up Fremont floor space for Optimus. It is also building a second line in Austin meant for even higher volumes, Business Insider reported.businessinsider.de+1

Reservations expected in December

The San Francisco Standard reported that Tesla is expected to open customer reservations in early December, citing robotics investor Modar Alaoui. Alaoui said Tesla told him reservations would launch alongside his Humanoids Summit in San Mateo, set for December 1-2, or in the days after. Tesla plans to demo the Optimus V3 at the event. The Standard said robots would probably not ship for another year and are expected to cost more than $20,000. It is unclear whether a deposit will be required, and Tesla did not respond to the outlet's request for comment.sfstandard.com

Costs and competition

The robot push comes as profits shrink. Tesla's net income fell 43% to $787 million in the quarter, while capital spending more than doubled to $4.7 billion, Tech Times reported. The outlet also cited a JPMorgan ↘ 1.90% note estimating that Tesla's guidance implies building 10,000 to 20,000 units before any outside sales.techtimes.com

Rivals including 1X have already opened waitlists but have not delivered any robots. The Standard pointed out that Tesla has been taking Roadster reservations for about a decade without delivering any cars. Musk, meanwhile, said he would be "stunned" if any competitor has a robot "remotely competitive with Optimus" by the time deliveries begin.finance.yahoo.com