Tesla's Optimus robot hits hand and supplier problems during ramp-up

Production of the humanoid robot has climbed roughly tenfold in recent months, but reliability issues remain, The Information reports

Tesla has increased production of its Optimus humanoid robot roughly tenfold in recent months, but the company is still struggling to build the machines reliably at scale, The Information reported. Production lines are grappling with problems, the outlet said.

The difficulties center on the robot's hands and its supply chain. Tesla disclosed in February that the Optimus Gen3 version would not reuse any existing supply chain and had been redesigned from first principles, with the hands and joints singled out as critical areas, according to BigGo Finance. This month, Tesla's robotics team began auditing factories in China, including Tuopu Group, Sanhua Intelligent Controls and Joyson Electronics, which supply joint modules, actuators and precision structural parts, CnEVPost reported, citing The Paper.

The hand problems are not new. The Information had previously reported that hand design issues forced Tesla to scale back its 2025 production goals, which were originally set at 5,000 to 10,000 units; actual output appears to have landed far lower, in the hundreds to low thousands, according to an analysis by Optimusk.blog. For 2026, Tesla is targeting around 50,000 Optimus units for deployment across its Gigafactories worldwide, 21st Century Business Herald reported.

Production ramps often expose technical problems as a matter of course. But recurring trouble with hands and suppliers on Optimus cuts against the narrative that has driven recent optimism around near-term robotaxi deployments. Combined with the scrutiny on Tesla's Cybercab plans, the execution risk around humanoid robots weighs on the bull case unless Tesla can show it has fixed these bottlenecks.