Tesla starts Optimus robot production as quarterly profit falls 43%
The first production-quality humanoid robots are rolling off a line in Fremont, but heavy AI spending cut Tesla's third-quarter profit to $787m.
Tesla has started producing its Optimus humanoid robot at its factory in Fremont, California, in space once used to build electric cars. In its third-quarter letter to shareholders, the company said these were the first production-quality robots it had made and that the process had proven suitable for a commercial product.
Elon Musk called it "early production" and warned the ramp-up would be slow and "somewhat bumpy", with work still needed on the design and on the AI that would let the robot handle open-ended tasks. He nonetheless claimed Tesla could make 20,000 robots a week by the end of 2027.
The results themselves were weak. Revenue was flat at $28.04bn, with car sales steady at about $20bn and deliveries of 486,532 vehicles, fewer than a year earlier. Energy and solar revenue fell 16% to $2.8bn, which Tesla blamed on tariff-related refunds, while services, including Full Self-Driving subscriptions, grew 33% to $4.6bn. Higher spending on AI, autonomy and Optimus, plus lower sales of regulatory credits, pushed net income down 43% to $787m from $1.37bn.
The figures come as Musk weighs a merger of Tesla and SpaceX, and as the company says it will begin selling its Cybercab robotaxi by the end of the year.