# What is Elon Musk's robot?

**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, 2026. 13 sources.

## Short answer

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

- **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 page](https://www.tesla.com/we-robot) (2024-10-10)

## How the Optimus program moved

| When | What happened | Posture | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Apr 22, 2026 (as reported) | Still pre-production; a Fremont line is being converted for Optimus. 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. | Company plan | [Electrek](https://electrek.co/2026/04/22/tesla-optimus-production-fremont-model-sx-line/) (2026-04-22) |
| Jan 28, 2026 (as reported) | Musk: no Optimus robots are doing useful work at Tesla yet. 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. | Company admission | [Electrek](https://electrek.co/2026/01/28/musk-admits-no-optimus-robots-are-doing-useful-work-at-tesla-after-claiming-otherwise/) (2026-01-28) |
| Jun 6, 2025 (as reported) | Optimus program lead Milan Kovac departs; Ashok Elluswamy takes over. 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. | Reported and confirmed | [CNBC](https://www.cnbc.com/2025/06/06/tesla-optimus-robotics-vp-is-leaving-the-company.html) (2025-06-06), [Fortune](https://fortune.com/2025/06/09/milan-kovac-tesla-optimus/) (2025-06-09) |
| Apr 23, 2025 (as reported) | Musk cites China's rare-earth magnet restrictions as a production constraint. 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. | Company statement | [CNBC](https://www.cnbc.com/2025/04/23/teslas-optimus-hit-by-chinas-rare-earth-restrictions-says-musk.html) (2025-04-23) |
| Oct 10, 2024 | We Robot event: Optimus units served drinks, and reporters found they were teleoperated. 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. | Independently reported | [Bloomberg](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-10-14/tesla-s-optimus-robots-were-remotely-operated-at-cybercab-event) (2024-10-14), [TechCrunch](https://techcrunch.com/2024/10/14/tesla-optimus-bots-were-controlled-by-humans-during-the-we-robot-event/) (2024-10-14), [Fortune](https://fortune.com/2024/10/13/elon-musk-tesla-optimus-robot-tele-operated-robotaxi/) (2024-10-13) |
| Dec 12, 2023 | Optimus Gen 2 revealed: Tesla-designed actuators and tactile-sensing hands. 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. | Demonstrated hardware | [Tesla (official)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpraXaw7dyc) (2023-12-12), [Electrek](https://electrek.co/2023/12/12/tesla-unveils-optimus-gen-2-next-generation-humanoid-robot/) (2023-12-12) |
| Sep 30, 2022 | First working prototype walks unaided at AI Day. 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. | Demonstrated hardware | [CNN Business](https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/30/business/tesla-bot-robot) (2022-09-30), [InsideEVs](https://insideevs.com/news/613692/tesla-humanoid-robot-ai-day-2022/) (2022-09-30) |

## How we know this

- [Tesla We Robot official event page](https://www.tesla.com/we-robot) (2024-10-10)
- [Electrek](https://electrek.co/2026/04/22/tesla-optimus-production-fremont-model-sx-line/) (2026-04-22)
- [Electrek](https://electrek.co/2026/01/28/musk-admits-no-optimus-robots-are-doing-useful-work-at-tesla-after-claiming-otherwise/) (2026-01-28)
- [CNBC](https://www.cnbc.com/2025/06/06/tesla-optimus-robotics-vp-is-leaving-the-company.html) (2025-06-06)
- [Fortune](https://fortune.com/2025/06/09/milan-kovac-tesla-optimus/) (2025-06-09)
- [CNBC](https://www.cnbc.com/2025/04/23/teslas-optimus-hit-by-chinas-rare-earth-restrictions-says-musk.html) (2025-04-23)
- [Bloomberg](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-10-14/tesla-s-optimus-robots-were-remotely-operated-at-cybercab-event) (2024-10-14)
- [TechCrunch](https://techcrunch.com/2024/10/14/tesla-optimus-bots-were-controlled-by-humans-during-the-we-robot-event/) (2024-10-14)
- [Fortune](https://fortune.com/2024/10/13/elon-musk-tesla-optimus-robot-tele-operated-robotaxi/) (2024-10-13)
- [Tesla (official)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpraXaw7dyc) (2023-12-12)
- [Electrek](https://electrek.co/2023/12/12/tesla-unveils-optimus-gen-2-next-generation-humanoid-robot/) (2023-12-12)
- [CNN Business](https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/30/business/tesla-bot-robot) (2022-09-30)
- [InsideEVs](https://insideevs.com/news/613692/tesla-humanoid-robot-ai-day-2022/) (2022-09-30)

## 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?](/which-humanoid-robots-can-you-actually-buy.md): Buying
- [Are humanoid robots actually autonomous or teleoperated?](/humanoid-robot-autonomy-verified.md): Buying
- [All verified answers](/answers.md): Every standing question DEPLOY tracks.
- [See the full Tesla Optimus record](https://registry.deploy.report/models/tesla-optimus): Specs, deployments, incidents, and every source on the verified registry.
- [How much do humanoid robots cost?](/humanoid-robot-prices.md): Every verified humanoid price figure, Optimus among them.

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