Elon Musk has rejected a fan theory suggesting Tesla is secretly ahead on its Optimus humanoid robot. He stated that initial production will be extremely slow. The comments came in response to speculation on social media.
Musk replied directly to a post by Tesla supporter Doctor Jack. The user had theorized that engineers were further ahead than forecasted and that a future V3 demo might showcase many robots at once.
Musk wrote that production will be extremely slow at first because everything is new and this is not like making a car. His response aligned with statements from Tesla’s Q1 2026 earnings call.
On that call Musk said Optimus production would begin at the Fremont factory in late July or August. He described output as quite slow and called the production rate impossible to predict given the robot’s 10,000 unique parts and new assembly line.
Tesla has repeatedly adjusted its Optimus timelines since 2022. The company now targets 50,000 to 100,000 units for 2026 with a goal of reaching a one-million-unit annual run rate at Fremont by year end.
