Tesla CEO Elon Musk called building and scaling production of the Optimus humanoid robot "the hardest product to scale manufacturing that we've ever made at Tesla" during the company’s Q2 2026 earnings call in July [1]. He highlighted that "robots上的所有东西都是新的," emphasizing that all aspects of the Optimus robot involve entirely new technology [2].
Musk explained that Tesla has no existing supply chain for Optimus and "had to build one from scratch," meaning many parts must be manufactured in-house, adding to the complexity and difficulty [1]. The company plans to begin production of the humanoid robots at its Fremont factory later in 2026 [3].
The CEO set a long-term target for Tesla to produce 100,000 Optimus units per month within five years but cautioned about the challenges involved given the newness of the product and supply chain [1].
Tesla also announced plans to spend over $25 billion in capital expenditures this year, including investments to expand industrial capacity and build new facilities such as the Terafab chip plant at Fremont [3]. Musk expressed confidence in the return on these investments, stating, "我坚信，目前投入的所有项目都将带来极其丰厚的回报" [3].
Following Musk’s comments about the hurdles in scaling Optimus production, Tesla’s stock price fell more than 5% in after-hours trading on July 22, 2026 [3]. The drop reflected investor concern over the risks of the ambitious robot project.
Tesla faces a formidable challenge to transform the Optimus humanoid robot concept into mass production, requiring new technologies and supply chains. The coming months will be critical with the planned start of production scheduled later this year [3].
