TLDR
- Tesla stock fell about 2% as reports detail Optimus robot hand production bottlenecks.
- The Information reports hand assembly complexity is slowing Tesla’s push toward 1,000 robots per week.
- Tesla has expanded orders with Chinese suppliers in Ningbo for Optimus components.
- Early commercial Optimus units will be leased, not sold, to control retrieval and upgrades.
- Musk praised Chinese President Xi Jinping as Trump and Xi prepare for a summit this week.
Tesla (TSLA) stock dropped roughly 2% on Thursday as new reporting revealed manufacturing headaches with its Optimus humanoid robot. Shares closed near $368.81, down about $9 on the day.
The Information reported that the robot’s hands have become the biggest bottleneck in scaling production. Tesla has grown output tenfold since the second quarter, moving from dozens of units weekly to several hundred.
Still, the company is chasing an ambitious goal. Tesla wants to build 1,000 Optimus units per week by year end, with a longer term target of 20,000 weekly units.
Supplier constraints and automated equipment failures are adding to the strain. The hand assembly process alone requires a level of mechanical precision that’s proving tough to replicate at scale.
What Optimus V3 Can Actually Do
The current version built in Fremont, Optimus V3, has a lighter frame and better cameras than earlier models. It was trained on more than 500,000 hours of real-world data.
$TSLA RAMPS OPTIMUS PRODUCTION 10X
Tesla has increased Optimus output from a few dozen units per week in Q2 to several 100, with managers targeting 1,000+ per week by year-end.
But the scale-up is still running into manufacturing problems, especially with Optimus’ hands, per… pic.twitter.com/UF1ivomGNm
— Wall St Engine (@wallstengine) September 25, 2026
Despite that training, V3 still can’t operate as a fully autonomous general-purpose machine. It’s limited to specific, supervised tasks in Palo Alto test zones and on factory floors.
Because this isn’t the final consumer version, Tesla is taking a cautious approach to rollout. Early commercial units will be leased rather than sold outright.
That lease model lets Tesla pull robots back for mechanical upgrades whenever needed. It also means the company keeps collecting factory data to refine the AI over time.
Musk has said full commercial sales could start by late 2027. That timeline depends on solving the hand manufacturing puzzle first.
Tesla Turns to Chinese Suppliers
Tesla is now leaning on Chinese suppliers to ramp up Optimus production. This marks a shift from the company’s recent strategy of cutting Chinese sourcing for U.S.-built vehicles.
Tesla teams visited Ningbo, a manufacturing hub on China’s east coast, for supplier audits. The visit focused on production consistency and exclusivity terms, according to a local report citing supply chain sources.
Orders have already been placed with suppliers there for Optimus parts. Meanwhile, construction continues on Tesla’s dedicated Optimus factory at Gigafactory Texas.
That Texas facility is expected to eventually reach an annual capacity of 10 million robots. The first large-scale Optimus assembly line, however, will run out of Fremont, replacing the former Model S and Model X production space.
China remains central to Tesla’s broader operations too. The company posted record energy storage deployments in Europe, the Middle East and Africa last quarter, supported by output from Megafactory Shanghai.
Musk called the Shanghai factory “a gem” in a recent interview. He also praised China’s manufacturing capabilities as “very strong” and “inherent.”
In an interview with Chinese state broadcaster CCTV, Musk went further, praising President Xi Jinping directly. He said Xi “seems like a great leader” and credited him with driving visible progress across Chinese infrastructure.
The comments come as President Trump prepares to meet Xi this week for a summit. Musk has recently been on friendly terms with Trump and joined him on a business trip to Beijing back in May.
Tensions haven’t fully eased, though. In July, the FCC added foreign-made robotic devices, including humanoid robots, to its banned device list, requiring higher domestic component thresholds through 2029. China’s Commerce Ministry called the move damaging to trade stability.
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