Humanoid robots

What is Elon Musk's robot?

Verified identity

Elon Musk's robot is Optimus, also called Tesla Bot, built by Tesla. Elon Musk's robot is Optimus, also called Tesla Bot, a humanoid built by Tesla, not by a separate robotics company. On DEPLOY's record it is at the research and development stage and not for sale. Tesla's projected price is $20,000 to $30,000, a manufacturer target, not a price you can pay today.

✓ Last verified Apr 22, 202613 sources

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Elon Musk's robot is Optimus, which Tesla also calls the Tesla Bot. It is a humanoid robot, and it is a Tesla product: Musk does not run a separate robotics company for it, and the same Tesla team behind Full Self-Driving develops the robot's software. On DEPLOY's record Optimus is at the research and development stage. There is no verified external sale and no preorder, and Musk himself acknowledged in January 2026 that no Optimus robots were yet doing useful work in Tesla factories. The price you will see quoted, $20,000 to $30,000, is a manufacturer target Musk projected for high volume, not a sold or executable price. Everything on this page is dated and attributed to its source, so you can read the record and judge it yourself.

Optimus at a glance

The verified identity of Elon Musk's robot, read from the Tesla Optimus record on the registry.

What it is called: Optimus, also called Tesla Bot
Who makes it: Tesla (it is a Tesla product, not a separate robotics company)
Type: Humanoid robot
Stage on DEPLOY's record: Research and development (not in production)
Can you buy it: No. There is no verified external sale and no preorder on the record.
Projected price: $20,000 to $30,000 (manufacturer target, a projection, not a price you can pay today)Tesla We Robot official event page2024-10-10

What is confirmed vs what is a projection

Each column is attributed to who stated it. The hardware is confirmed; the price and timeline are Tesla's own targets.

Confirmed on the record

A real Tesla humanoid

Optimus is a real humanoid robot built by Tesla. Tesla demonstrated a walking prototype in 2022 and the Gen 2 unit with tactile-sensing hands in 2023, the primary demonstrated hardware on the record.

Tesla's projections (attributed to the company)

Price and timeline are targets

The $20,000 to $30,000 figure is a manufacturer target Musk projected for high volume, not a sold price. Tesla's stated goal is for Optimus to be useful outside Tesla around 2027. These are the company's own claims, attributed to Tesla.

Where it stands

Not for sale, still in R&D

On DEPLOY's record Optimus is at the research and development stage, with no verified external sale and no preorder. Musk acknowledged in January 2026 that no Optimus robots were yet doing useful work in Tesla's factories.

How the Optimus program moved

The public milestones on the record, each dated and sourced, newest first.

Apr 22, 2026 (as reported)Still pre-production; a Fremont line is being converted for OptimusCompany plan
Tesla is converting a Fremont vehicle line toward Optimus production, with volume still ahead of it. On the record the robot remains in research and development, with no external sale and no preorder, attributed to Tesla's own production framing.
Electrek2026-04-22
Jan 28, 2026 (as reported)Musk: no Optimus robots are doing useful work at Tesla yetCompany admission
On the Q4 2025 earnings call, Elon Musk acknowledged that Optimus is not in material use in Tesla factories and remains in the research and development phase, a candid statement attributed to Musk himself, after earlier suggestions of internal factory testing.
Electrek2026-01-28
Jun 6, 2025 (as reported)Optimus program lead Milan Kovac departs; Ashok Elluswamy takes overReported and confirmed
Milan Kovac, the vice president running the Optimus program, left Tesla, and Autopilot and AI lead Ashok Elluswamy took over leadership of the robot, as reported by CNBC and Fortune.
CNBC2025-06-06 Fortune2025-06-09
Apr 23, 2025 (as reported)Musk cites China's rare-earth magnet restrictions as a production constraintCompany statement
On the Q1 2025 earnings call, Musk attributed a hit to Optimus production to China's export restrictions on rare-earth magnets, a constraint he stated himself, reported by CNBC.
CNBC2025-04-23
Oct 10, 2024We Robot event: Optimus units served drinks, and reporters found they were teleoperatedIndependently reported
At Tesla's We Robot event, Optimus units appeared to converse and serve drinks. Bloomberg, TechCrunch, and Fortune reported that the interactions were human-teleoperated, with only the walking AI-driven, and that Tesla did not disclose the remote assistance beforehand. Tesla also framed a projected $20,000 to $30,000 price at this event.
Bloomberg2024-10-14 TechCrunch2024-10-14 Fortune2024-10-13
Dec 12, 2023Optimus Gen 2 revealed: Tesla-designed actuators and tactile-sensing handsDemonstrated hardware
Tesla revealed Optimus Gen 2 with Tesla-designed actuators and sensors, roughly 30 percent faster walking, about 10 kg lighter, and 11-degree-of-freedom hands with fingertip tactile sensing. This is the primary demonstrated-hardware artifact on the record.
Tesla (official)2023-12-12 Electrek2023-12-12
Sep 30, 2022First working prototype walks unaided at AI DayDemonstrated hardware
Tesla first showed the Tesla Bot as a concept in August 2021 (represented by a person in a suit, no hardware). At AI Day on September 30, 2022, the Bumble-C prototype walked untethered onstage, the first working hardware, as covered by CNN and InsideEVs.
CNN Business2022-09-30 InsideEVs2022-09-30

How we know this

Optimus's identity and projected price on this page are read live from the verified Tesla Optimus record on the DEPLOY registry. The program milestones are each dated and attributed to the outlet that reported or the event that demonstrated them. Here are the sources behind them.

Tesla We Robot official event page2024-10-10 Electrek2026-04-22 Electrek2026-01-28 CNBC2025-06-06 Fortune2025-06-09 CNBC2025-04-23 Bloomberg2024-10-14 TechCrunch2024-10-14 Fortune2024-10-13 Tesla (official)2023-12-12 Electrek2023-12-12 CNN Business2022-09-30 InsideEVs2022-09-30

Tesla's price and timeline are the company's own projections, attributed to Tesla, not independent findings. The teleoperation at the We Robot event is attributed to the reporters who found it. DEPLOY scopes the answer to its record and links every source.

Common questions

What is Elon Musk's new robot called?

It is called Optimus, and Tesla also refers to it as the Tesla Bot. It is a humanoid robot built by Tesla. Optimus is the product name; Tesla Bot was the original name Tesla used when it announced the concept in 2021.

How much does Elon Musk's robot cost?

There is no price you can pay today, because Optimus is not for sale. The figure Musk projects is $20,000 to $30,000 at high volume, which the record marks as a manufacturer target, not a sold or executable price. On DEPLOY's record that projection dates to Tesla's We Robot event.

What is the name of Elon Musk's robotics company?

There is no separate company. Optimus is built inside Tesla, and Musk has not spun out a distinct robotics company for it. The same Tesla Autopilot and AI team that develops Full Self-Driving also develops the Optimus control software, so the maker on the record is Tesla.

Can you buy Elon Musk's robot?

No. There is no verified external sale of Optimus and no preorder on DEPLOY's record. It is at the research and development stage, and Musk acknowledged in January 2026 that no Optimus robots were yet doing useful work even inside Tesla's own factories.

Is Optimus real, or just a demo?

The hardware is real: Tesla demonstrated a walking prototype in 2022 and the Gen 2 unit with tactile-sensing hands in 2023. But at the 2024 We Robot event, Bloomberg, TechCrunch, and Fortune reported that the crowd-pleasing interactions were human-teleoperated, with only the walking AI-driven. So the robot exists, while some of its most viral demonstrations were remotely operated by people.

Does Elon Musk have any other robots?

Optimus is the humanoid robot Elon Musk is known for, built by Tesla. Tesla also builds autonomous vehicles that run Full Self-Driving, and those share a perception and compute approach with Optimus, but the robot people mean by the question is Optimus.

Keep reading

Which humanoid robots can you actually buy in 2026?Answer Buying Are humanoid robots actually autonomous or teleoperated?Answer Buying All verified answersHub Every standing question DEPLOY tracks.See the full Tesla Optimus recordRecord Specs, deployments, incidents, and every source on the verified registry.How much do humanoid robots cost?Record Every verified humanoid price figure, Optimus among them.

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