Tesla employees at plants in Texas and California resisted collecting motion data for Optimus robots, fearing the technology would replace their jobs. The company previously requested staff to wear motion-capture suits to record tasks like sorting parts and folding clothes. Following employee pushback, Tesla shifted to dedicated teams and installed cameras in production areas.
The company has significantly scaled production, increasing output from several dozen units per week in Q2 to several hundred in August. Tesla aims to establish an automated line with a capacity of over 1,000 units per week by the end of the year, with a long-term goal of 20,000 units weekly. Official plans include a Gen 3 line targeting 1 million robots annually.
Scaling remains difficult due to complex manual assembly, as the robot's hands and forearms contain over 100 screws and small components. Inaccurate component fitting often requires post-assembly rework. Furthermore, Tesla relies on external suppliers in China for motors and precision gearboxes, which has led to quality control issues during volume ramp-ups.
Technical limitations persist, as Optimus is largely programmed for specific tasks in controlled environments, sometimes requiring days to master basic operations. Tesla plans to introduce swappable sensor gloves next year to improve maintenance. The Fremont plant has been repurposed for Optimus production, and Elon Musk has stated that robots should perform complex tasks by late 2026.
