TL;DR: Tesla is reportedly halting production of its Model S and Model X vehicles in 2026 to convert the Fremont factory entirely into an Optimus robot manufacturing plant.
We knew Elon Musk was serious about humanoid robots. Now we see exactly how serious.
The latest industry reports confirm a massive pivot at Tesla. They are stopping production of the Model S sedan and the Model X crossover this year. That is a huge move for a car company. Instead of building those legacy vehicles, they are completely transforming the Fremont factory in California. The goal is to turn it into a dedicated, high-volume production plant for the Optimus humanoid robot.
We’ve also just caught our first glimpse of the Tesla Bot Gen 3 with its new 22 degree-of-freedom hands. These are the kinds of dexterous hands you need if you expect a robot to handle delicate tasks on a factory line or inside a home. Building cars takes up a lot of space. Building millions of robots takes even more.
The Model S put Tesla on the map. It’s wild to think the factory that built it is now shifting entirely to walking machines.