Tesla starts Optimus humanoid robot production in Fremont as third-quarter net income falls 43%

In its third-quarter update on October 21, Tesla said that “Optimus production began in Fremont on our high-volume lines” and that “the bots coming off this line are the first production-quality bots that we have manufactured.” According to Tesla North, Tesla decommissioned its Model S and Model X assembly lines in the second quarter to make room for Optimus. The update lists the Optimus factory in Texas as still under construction.

Net income fell 43% to $787 million from $1.37 billion a year earlier, on roughly flat revenue of $28.04 billion. According to Electrek, operating income dropped 56% to $718 million, while research and development spending, which covers Optimus, AI and the Cybercab, rose 69% to $2.76 billion. Capital spending in the quarter was $4.73 billion.

On the earnings call, Elon Musk described the Fremont work as “early production” and said “the initial part of the S curve has a shallow slope and is somewhat bumpy.” He said reaching a rate of 20,000 units a week would take “probably at least a year, maybe a little longer.” Musk said there is “still quite a lot of work to do with regard to the AI” and that he expects deliveries to companies outside Tesla around the end of next year. He added that Tesla may be ready to release an Optimus video “in a month or so.”