Tesla Clears Fremont Line for 20,000 Weekly Optimus Robots
The company began building production-grade units on a converted Model S line, aiming for high-volume output by next year.
By Pedro Salazar ·
20,000 robots per week is the weekly output target Tesla has set for its new humanoid line at the Fremont factory. The company confirmed on its third quarter earnings call that it has started manufacturing Optimus units on the high volume line, marking the first batch to meet commercial product standards.
The facility previously produced Model S and Model X vehicles. Tesla engineers removed the old car assembly equipment in 46 days this spring to install the robot production system. The infrastructure is designed to support an annual capacity of one million units. Elon Musk stated that most of the necessary equipment is already in place at the Fremont site.
Tesla reported that the robots coming off the line are the first production-quality bots the company has manufactured. The shareholder letter noted that the current manufacturing process is suitable for a commercial product. Musk described the production ramp as an S curve, characterizing the initial slope as shallow as the team refines the robot's AI, electromechanical design, and reliability.
The company plans to finish the necessary engineering work by the end of next year. Tesla intends to begin delivering Optimus units to outside companies at that time. The robots will be deployed for dangerous, repetitive, and around-the-clock jobs.
To train the AI without a large existing fleet, Tesla is establishing an Optimus Academy. This program will use 10,000 to 20,000 robots to practice various tasks. The data generated by these units will feed into the next version of the model. Every robot built on the Fremont line will serve as a source of training data.
Hardware upgrades are also scheduled for next year. Tesla plans to integrate its AI5 chip into the Optimus units. Musk said a new video demonstrating the robot completing tasks driven by AI rather than preprogrammed motions should arrive within one or two months. He contrasted this approach with rival humanoid demos that rely on scripted routines.
Source: Teslarati
