Tesla faces Optimus hand bottleneck as it aims for 1,000 weekly units

Tesla is facing production hurdles in scaling its Optimus humanoid robot, with the mechanical complexity of the robot's hands emerging as a primary bottleneck, according to a report by The Information on September 25.

Tesla multiplied its output tenfold in recent months, growing from several dozen units per week in the second quarter to several hundred. However, automated equipment failures, supplier constraints, and the hand assembly process are complicating its goal of producing 1,000 units weekly by the end of the year, ahead of a longer-term target of 20,000 per week.

The current Fremont-built Optimus V3 model features a lighter chassis and enhanced camera arrays. Powered by artificial intelligence trained on more than 500,000 hours of real-world data, the V3 remains limited to supervised testing zones in Palo Alto and factory floors.

Tesla plans to lease early commercial units to select warehouse customers rather than sell them directly, allowing the company to retrieve units for mechanical upgrades and collect factory data. CEO Elon Musk projects full commercial sales could begin by late 2027 if manufacturing challenges are resolved.