Tesla CEO Elon Musk stated that production of the Optimus 3 humanoid robot could begin this summer, following an interview at the Abundance Summit. He described the robot as the most advanced in the world. Tesla also showcased the robot at the AWE 2026 expo in Shanghai.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk shared an update on the Optimus 3 humanoid robot during an interview at the Abundance Summit on March 12, 2026. Musk indicated that the company is in the final stages of completing Optimus 3, which he called 'by far the most advanced robot in the world. Nothing’s even close. In fact, I haven’t even seen demos of robots that are as good as Optimus 3.'
Production is expected to start this summer with very low initial volumes, following a classic S-curve ramp, and reach high volume around summer 2027. Musk added, 'I think we’ll start production on Optimus 3 this summer, but very slow at first... And then, probably reach high volume production around summer next year.' He also mentioned plans for rapid iteration, stating, 'We’ll have Optimus 4 design complete next year. We’ll try to release a new robot design every year.'
Initial production lines will be at Tesla’s Fremont Factory, aiming for up to 1 million units per year. A larger ramp is planned at Gigafactory Texas for up to 10 million units annually, potentially with Optimus 4. Musk previously said, 'We’re going to launch on the fastest production ramp of any product of any large complex manufactured product ever, starting with building a one-million-unit production line in Fremont. And that’s Line one. And then a ten million unit per year production line here.'
Concurrently, Tesla showcased Optimus at the 2026 Appliance & Electronics World Expo (AWE 2026) in Shanghai, which opened on March 12. On-site staff reported that mass production could begin by the end of 2026. The display included the Cybertruck, and Tesla shared images on Weibo highlighting the robot's dexterous hands, designed to resemble human proportions for complex tasks. Musk has noted that Optimus could learn skills by observing humans and perform factory tasks, with potential public sales by the end of 2027. In February 2026, Musk announced the robot's debut soon and plans to repurpose Model S and X production lines for Optimus.
