Tesla’s Future Tech Just Took an Unexpected Turn

Tesla’s ambitious plans for its humanoid robot, Optimus, have quietly hit pause.

AInvest reported that sources within the company’s Chinese supply chain say parts procurement for the robot was suspended in June while engineers overhaul the design. 

The delay, reportedly lasting at least two months, raises questions about whether CEO Elon Musk’s promise to deliver 5,000 units this year is still in play.

Optimus, which Musk once claimed would revolutionize labor and even help colonize Mars, is undergoing hardware and software revisions. Tesla has encountered technical hurdles, including overheating in joint motors, low payload capacity in the robot’s hands, and short battery life. 

In response, the company is testing multiple new hardware approaches and ramping up the use of synthetic data to refine the robot’s autonomous behavior.

This pivot comes just after Milan Kovac, the project’s original lead, exited Tesla. Ashok Elluswamy, Tesla’s VP of AI software and a key player behind Full Self-Driving, is now leading the Optimus initiative. Insiders say he’s taking time to fine-tune the robot’s performance before greenlighting mass production.

As of May, Tesla had built close to 1,000 Optimus units and had stockpiled parts for 1,200. But the gap between that and Musk’s 2025 production goal suggests the company may fall short. 

At an October event last year, Tesla showed off Optimus robots dancing and pouring drinks, but most of those actions were reportedly remote-controlled.

For now, Optimus is used only to transport batteries inside Tesla’s factories, and even then, it’s working at less than half the efficiency of human workers.

The unexpected pivot underscores broader turbulence at Tesla. Several top executives have left, and Musk is contending with investor concerns and political battles. Still, he’s expected to unveil the next-generation Optimus at the upcoming shareholder meeting in a bid to regain momentum and reassure stakeholders.

Tesla’s big bet on robots isn’t canceled, but the road ahead may be longer and bumpier than Musk first imagined.