[News] Tesla Reportedly Scales Back Optimus Production as Hand Design Issues Stall Assembly

While Elon Mush just shared a video on X showing Optimus practicing Kung Fu in early October, Tesla is reportedly scaling back its production plans for the humanoid robot this year due to challenges with its hand design, according to The Information, as cited by TechSpot.

The main challenge reportedly lies in creating human-like, highly dexterous hands, which has led to a temporary halt in assembly.

Insiders cited by The Information reportedly add that Tesla has amassed a stock of partially completed Optimus units—bodies without hands or forearms—with no clear timeline for when the robots will be fully outfitted and ready for delivery. Elon Musk acknowledged the difficulties during a recent podcast but did not provide a schedule for when the robots will hit the market, according to the reports.

As TrendForce observed in July, China’s supply chain indicated that Tesla might be halting production of its humanoid robot, Optimus. TrendForce reports that Tesla currently faces two major challenges: limited battery life and difficulties with hardware-software integration. While improvements in motion planning and energy optimization through AI could help address battery performance, fundamental bottlenecks remain—particularly in the efficiency of core hardware components such as joint motors and transmission systems.

According to the reports, Tesla first identified the hand and arm issues last summer, prompting a major scale-back of its original production plans. The company had initially targeted at least 5,000 Optimus robots by the end of 2025 but later revised the goal to 2,000 units for the rest of the year, the reports suggest.

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(Photo credit: Tesla)