Tesla appears to be falling short of its previously stated target to manufacture 5,000 Optimus humanoid robots by the end of 2025, according to The Information. Nearly eight months into the year, production numbers remain in the low hundreds, two sources told the publication. This suggests the company may have to either accelerate its efforts or revise the goal.
The development follows Tesla’s disclosure of a 12% drop in revenue for Q2, attributed to declining EV demand, reduced regulatory credit income, and a slump in solar and energy storage sales. During the earnings call, CEO Elon Musk said mass production of the Optimus 3 model is expected to begin in early 2026.
“We will scale Optimus production as fast as possible,” Musk stated, expressing confidence that Tesla could eventually reach one million units annually within five years — a figure he described as “a reasonable aspiration.”
Musk has made similar ambitious forecasts in the past. He claimed in 2019 that Tesla would deploy one million robotaxis by 2020, and later predicted mass robotaxi production in 2024 — neither of which has materialized.
