Tesla Kills Model S and X Lines to Build Hundreds of Optimus Robots a Week

Tesla is reportedly building several hundred Optimus humanoid robots per week at its Fremont factory, a 10x increase from its Q2 output. Managers are aiming for a continuous automated line capable of producing more than 1,000 robots a week by the end of the year, with an eventual target of 20,000 a week. The company ended production of its flagship Model S and Model X vehicles in early May, converting that factory space for Optimus and pulling engineers onto the robot program. The current hardware faces massive durability bottlenecks, with the hand and forearm containing over 100 screws and small components that workers must still assemble by hand. The AI cannot reliably handle a wide range of tasks yet, so Tesla intends to lease the hardware to a short list of partner companies to gather fleet data.