Tesla to Begin Training Optimus Robot at Austin Gigafactory

By Staff, Agencies

Tesla is preparing to start training its humanoid robot, Optimus, at its Austin Gigafactory, bringing the technology closer to being deployed in its factories.

During a town hall last week, the company informed workers that it plans to begin collecting data for training Optimus at the Texas facility, with a targeted start date in February, according to insiders speaking to Business Insider.

Tesla has already been collecting data and training Optimus prototypes at its Fremont, California, factory for over a year. In Fremont, data collectors are usually kept separate from the general workforce to avoid disrupting production, sources said. These data collectors record themselves performing tasks such as organizing vehicle parts and working on conveyor belts, with the footage used to teach Optimus to replicate the movements.

CEO Elon Musk told attendees at the Davos forum on Thursday that Optimus is currently performing “simple tasks” in Tesla’s factories, though he did not specify which tasks. He added that he expects the robot to handle more complex tasks by the end of this year and predicted that Tesla will begin selling humanoid robots to the public by the end of next year.

Musk also warned earlier this week that production of Optimus—and the Cybercab, which will be manufactured in Austin—will be “agonizingly slow.” Tesla did not respond to requests for comment.

Since Optimus was first announced in 2021, Tesla has periodically released glimpses of its progress. In 2024, the company shared a video showing the robot arranging batteries while supported by an overhead harness at its Palo Alto lab, and it stated that two autonomous Optimus robots were deployed in a factory that year.

Tesla employs several dozen Optimus trainers, and its large factory workforce could be an ideal group to help train the robot due to their expertise. Last year, Tesla shifted from primarily training Optimus through teleoperation to using video data collection, allowing the company to gather larger amounts of training data without relying on motion-capture suits.

Optimus trainers wear large helmets equipped with multiple cameras and heavy backpacks, which can be cumbersome. Tesla has tested a lighter fanny pack-style setup, though it is unclear whether this will be used in future factory training.

Musk has described Optimus as potentially the “biggest product of all time,” suggesting the robot could one day handle tasks ranging from household chores and factory work to operating data centers in space.

The town hall also addressed other developments at the Austin factory, including ongoing updates to production lines and continued construction. Over the past year, Tesla has repeatedly reduced production hours on the Cybertruck line and shifted workers to the Model Y line due to weak sales of the electric pickup.