Musk: Tesla Aims to Ship Optimus Humanoid Robots to Outside Companies by End of 2027

Tesla chief executive Elon Musk said on the company’s third-quarter earnings call on October 21 that Tesla could be ready to start shipping its Optimus humanoid robots to outside companies by the end of next year, and that its robotaxi fleet will soon become a significant driver of revenue. The comments, reported by the Wall Street Journal, are the most concrete timeline Musk has given for Optimus as a product rather than an internal project.

He was quick to temper expectations on scale. Increasing Optimus production to 20,000 units a week will take "at least a year, maybe a little longer," Musk said, because Tesla must build "an entire gigantic global supply chain" plus a very large domestic factory. The robots still need design improvements for safety and reliability — Musk said they cannot wear out after a month — and "there’s still a lot of work to do" on the AI so the robot is truly useful for open-ended tasks.

The push is already reshaping Tesla’s physical footprint: the company stopped Model S and X production at Fremont and is converting those lines into its first large-scale Optimus line. Musk also told investors demand for Tesla’s cars is growing because Full Self-Driving (Supervised) is now a key selling point, and that robotaxi usage is growing "exponentially" — though Tesla launched its two-seater Cybercab in Austin in September and has not confirmed a timeline for other cities.