- Tesla plans to build 1 million Optimus robots a year, replacing Model S and Model X production lines.
- The first production line goes online this quarter, with a second line designed for 10 million robots annually.
- Consumer sales won’t start until late 2027, leaving the market question unanswered.
Tesla ended sales of the Model S and Model X to start producing the Optimus humanoid robot, according to the company’s Q1 2026 quarterly report [CleanTechnica reports](https://cleantechnica.com/2026/05/01/who-is-tesla-selling-1-million-humanoid-robots-a-year-to/). Instead of producing about 40,000 units of the Model S and Model X each year, Tesla plans to build about 1 million robots a year within that same manufacturing space in Fremont, California.
The first production line for Optimus will go online this quarter, designed for 1 million robots annually [CleanTechnica reports](https://cleantechnica.com/2026/04/27/elon-musks-nutso-comments-on-us-national-debt-robots/). Tesla is also preparing Gigafactory Texas for a second-generation line, designed for long-term annual production capacity of 10 million robots. Consumer sales aren’t expected to begin until the end of 2027, with initial production focused on Tesla factories and other industrial customers.
“We are 1,000% going to go bankrupt as a country and fail as a country, without AI and robots,” said Elon Musk on the Dwarkesh Podcast. “Nothing else will solve the national debt.”
Who’s Buying 1 Million Robots?
The market question looms large. Tesla’s humanoid robots have hardly demonstrated any notable capabilities, but they’re supposed to cost tens of thousands of dollars each once launched [CleanTechnica reports](https://cleantechnica.com/2026/05/01/who-is-tesla-selling-1-million-humanoid-robots-a-year-to/). At such a high price, it’s unclear who is supposed to be buying these up like hotcakes. Normal people can’t plop down $30,000 on a robot companion, and how many super-rich people are really going to benefit from one?
These robots won’t clean your house, do your dishes, or do your laundry for you [CleanTechnica reports](https://cleantechnica.com/2026/05/01/who-is-tesla-selling-1-million-humanoid-robots-a-year-to/). They won’t take your kids to the park, pick them up from school, go shopping at the store, or do yardwork. The initial use case is industrial—Tesla factories and other manufacturing operations—but how many companies need to spend tens of thousands on humanoid robots that still have various limitations and are much slower than humans?
Competitors are scaling more cautiously. 1X, the Palo Alto-based company behind the NEO humanoid robot, has commenced full-scale production and aims to build 100,000 humanoid robots per year by the end of 2027 [USA Today reports](https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2026/05/01/neo-humanoid-robot-company-1x-releasing-100000-units-by-2027/89891813007/). Schaeffler AG plans to deploy at least 1,000 Hexagon humanoid robots across its global production system by 2032 [The Robot Report reports](https://www.therobotreport.com/schaeffler-plans-to-deploy-1000-hexagon-humanoids-2032/).
Manufacturing Pivot
Tesla’s shift from cars to robots represents a massive bet on humanoid automation. The Fremont factory space that once produced 40,000 luxury vehicles annually will now churn out 1 million robots—a 25x increase in unit volume [CleanTechnica reports](https://cleantechnica.com/2026/05/01/who-is-tesla-selling-1-million-humanoid-robots-a-year-to/). The second-generation line at Gigafactory Texas scales that ambition to 10 million robots annually, a production capacity that exceeds Tesla’s entire vehicle output.
The humanoid robot market is emerging as a viable technology, with industrial deployment already underway [Consulting.us reports](https://www.consulting.us/news/amp/13318/from-sci-fi-to-reality-humanoid-robots-could-soon-be-as-big-as-auto-industry). “The key question is no longer whether humanoid robots will emerge as a viable technology, but how quickly they will scale—and which companies position themselves early enough to capture the opportunity,” said Damien Dujacquier, managing partner at Roland Berger.
Tesla’s first production line goes online in Q2 2026 [CleanTechnica reports](https://cleantechnica.com/2026/04/27/elon-musks-nutso-comments-on-us-national-debt-robots/).
