Tesla Optimus

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Tesla Bot Optimus hands a child a tub of popcorn last week in LA. Photo via Getty
AI Agenda

Why Hands Are a Handful for Tesla's Humanoid Robots

By Rocket Drew · Jul 28, 2025 7:00am PDT · 2 comments
On Friday, we reported on Tesla’s Optimus humanoid robot program, which may fall well short of Elon Musk’s ambitious goal to pump out 5,000 robots by the end of the year. It turns out the robots’ hands are among the big factors holding up production. In fact, some Optimus robots that are mostly complete have been sitting unused at a Tesla... On Friday, we reported on Tesla’s Optimus humanoid robot program, which may fall well short of ...
Apptronik co-founders Nick Paine, left, and Jeff Cardenas, along with Apollo, their humanoid robot. Photo: Courtesy Apptronik.
The Electric

The Electric: Tesla's Optimus Hype Has Pumped Up the Nascent U.S. Humanoid Battery Industry

By Steve LeVine · Jun 23, 2025 4:30am PDT
U.S. researchers invented the electric vehicle battery, but Chinese companies have swallowed up the business of making them. Now a new technological race has emerged, this time in humanoid robots: As in batteries and EVs, U.S. companies are in tough competition with Chinese rivals that already control much of the supply chain for motors and... U.S. researchers invented the electric vehicle battery, but Chinese companies have swallowed up...
Optimus, Tesla's prototype robot. Photo: Getty
The Electric

The Electric: Behind the Threat to Tesla’s Optimus Robot From Toyota and Boston Dynamics

By Steve LeVine · Oct 21, 2024 4:30am PDT
At the 1939 World’s Fair in New York, Westinghouse Electric unveiled Elektro, a 7-foot-tall robot that walked, spoke, smoked cigarettes and gestured with its arms. It was all a show—Elektro’s witty conversation flowed from phrases recorded on a vinyl disc inside its massive body. But the robot wowed crowds that piled in to witness its apparent... At the 1939 World’s Fair in New York, Westinghouse Electric unveiled Elektro, a 7-foot-tall robot...
Art via Getty Images
AI Agenda

Former Tesla Optimus Lead is Launching an Industrial Robot Startup

By Kevin McLaughlin · Oct 7, 2026 7:01am PDT
Ashish Kumar, a former AI lead for Tesla’s Optimus humanoid robots, has co-founded a startup developing non-humanoid robots that handle a variety of tasks that would normally be done by highly skilled workers in industries such as manufacturing and aerospace, according to two people with direct knowledge of the matter. The San Francisco... Ashish Kumar, a former AI lead for Tesla’s Optimus humanoid robots, has co-founded a startup...
Tesla Bot Optimus 3. Photo by Chen Yuyu/Getty Images
Exclusive

Tesla’s Optimus Hits Snags in Hands, Suppliers as Scale-Up Begins

By Qianer Liu and Grace Kay · Sep 25, 2026 6:01am PDT · 6 comments
Tesla has ramped up production of its Optimus humanoid robot roughly tenfold in recent months, but the company is still struggling to manufacture the machines reliably at scale. Its production lines are grappling with problems involving the robot’s intricate hands, automated equipment and supplier constraints, according to people familiar with... Tesla has ramped up production of its Optimus humanoid robot roughly tenfold in recent months,...
Art by Clark Miller; Optimus image courtesy of Tesla.
Exclusive

As Elon Musk Preps Tesla’s Optimus for Prime Time, Big Hurdles Remain

By Theo Wayt · Oct 7, 2025 6:00am PDT · 4 comments
When Elon Musk takes the stage at Tesla’s annual meeting next month, one of the centerpieces of his plan to impress shareholders will be a dancing troupe of Optimus bots, the humanoid machines that he says will eventually eclipse Tesla’s electric vehicle business, which is suffering from flagging sales growth. Behind the scenes, however, the... When Elon Musk takes the stage at Tesla’s annual meeting next month, one of the centerpieces of...