Busy Monday for Tesla, and most of it is promises. Here's the short version.
Optimus is being built, but it isn't ready for a job. Musk said on the earnings call that robots are coming off a mass-production line in Fremont, California, which Tesla says are its first Optimus robots to meet production quality standards. The stubborn parts are hands that can handle delicate objects without wearing out, and a lack of real-world training data, so Tesla plans to put 10,000 to 20,000 robots through an "Optimus Academy". For the chips inside such a machine, see what Texas Instruments puts inside each humanoid.
The Optimus calendar keeps sliding. Musk once talked of internal use in 2025 and outside sales in 2026, and now says late 2027 for customer deliveries. That's a promise, and it has already moved once. Rivals aren't waiting: Xpeng plans mass production of its Iron robot by the end of 2026, and Boston Dynamics has started building an electric Atlas.
A SpaceX merger is being studied. Musk said on SpaceX's earnings call that a combination sounds like a good idea, though he says he isn't part of any talks. Special committees have been formed, and half of shareholders would have to approve a deal. Our earlier report covers the board-level discussion.
FSD is becoming something buyers add at checkout. Tesla says more than three in four North American deliveries now include a paid Full Self-Driving (Supervised) plan. Active subscriptions climbed to about 1.7 million, and the company hopes for European Union approval in the coming months, which is a hope, not a decision.
The Cybercab is meant to be cheap to run. Tesla says the purpose-built robotaxi needs about half the parts of its other vehicles, and it is aiming for operating costs near 30 cents a mile. Those are company goals, and we've already noted that you probably can't buy a Cybercab by December 31.
The quarter paying for all of this
The spending shows in the results. Sales were nearly flat at $28.0 billion, but operating income fell by more than half to $718 million, which Tesla blamed on AI research, stock-based pay and weaker regulatory credit sales. Car deliveries slipped about 2% from a year earlier.
Which of these will reach a road or factory floor first: a working Optimus, European FSD approval, or a paid Cybercab ride?
The WattsUpNext take: Tesla is spending heavily on humanoid robots, robotaxis and self-driving software while its car business treads water. The robot line is real, but customer-ready robots are still a year or more away.
That's wattsup, and here's wattsnext: NASA's PACE satellite maps fall color by measuring leaf redness
Since this story was published
Latvia has approved Tesla's Full Self-Driving system, making it the 10th European Union member state to do so, according to tech-insider.org.
Sources
- 1.An EV Business Revival and Potential SpaceX Merger: Is Tesla Stock a Buy? · The Globe and Mail
- 2.Tesla Launches Optimus Robot Production, Revolutionizing Robotics · RS Web Solutions (RSWEBSOLS)
- 3.Tesla humanoid Optimus enters initial production, but key hurdles still block commercial use · DigitalToday
- 4.Tesla pushes Optimus deliveries to late 2027, says hands still a problem · Electrek
- 5.Tesla (TSLA) releases Q3 2026 financial results: margins rebound, profit still falls · Electrek
- 6.Musk backs SpaceX-Tesla merger idea as both boards form special committees · Yahoo Finance
- 7.Tesla Begins Optimus Production in Fremont, Targets Customer Deliveries in Late 2027 · Humanoids Daily
Reported by the WattsUpNext desk from the sources linked below. Spot an error? Tell us at corrections@wattsupnext.com.
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