Tesla Halts Optimus Robot Production Amid Technical Setbacks

Tesla's efforts to transform robotics have encountered a significant obstacle. As of mid-June 2025, the company halted all production of its Optimus humanoid robots, citing a string of unresolved technical issues and recent changes in project leadership.

Despite producing nearly 1,000 Optimus units by late May and gathering parts for 1,200 robots, recent setbacks derailed the company's year-end targets. Tesla had promised 5,000 or more robots for 2025, but insiders say output may fall far short.

Technical Bottlenecks Stall Production

Key challenges have emerged in the form of overheating joint motors, limited battery life, and failures in hand components. Most incomplete Optimus bodies remain without working hands or forearms, with low load capacity and reliability plaguing the design. Even basic tasks, like moving batteries in Tesla workshops, reveal the robot's efficiency is less than half that of a human worker.

Joint transmission lifespans also fell below expectations. Multiple solutions for hand mechanics are being tested, but so far none have proven both robust and dexterous.

Did you know?
During a recent public demo, an Optimus robot failed mid-task at a Tesla diner launch event-even while teleoperated-spotlighting the current operational limitations versus Elon Musk’s ambitious promises.

Production Paused for Redesign

The halt prompted Tesla to launch a sweeping two-month redesign of both hardware and software. The company stopped orders from Chinese suppliers and shifted focus to incorporating more synthetic data for AI training, aiming to improve Optimus’s task success rate and autonomous decision-making.

A high-profile robot freeze-up during a public event in Los Angeles, where an Optimus failed mid-demonstration while serving popcorn, highlighted the technology’s major unresolved issues.

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Leadership Turnover Complicates Recovery

Project turmoil deepened with the June 2025 departure of Milan Kovac, who’d led the Optimus program since 2016. Kovac’s exit is part of a wave of senior departures across Tesla’s operations this year. Ashok Elluswamy, renowned for his work on Tesla’s Full Self-Driving software, now leads the program.

Adding further uncertainty, Tesla is embroiled in a trade secrets lawsuit over former employees reportedly taking know-how in robotic hands to a startup competitor.

Financial and Strategic Pressures Rise

These setbacks arrive amid Tesla’s most daunting financial period in over a decade. The second quarter saw revenues dip 12%, automotive sales drop 16%, and share prices tumble 9% after Musk’s candid warning of "rough quarters" ahead. The company’s flagship robotics and AI programs are now under sharper scrutiny as core car sales shrink and federal incentives wane.

Elon Musk has scaled down projections, describing previous high-volume robot targets as "aspirational" rather than certain. Production of the redesigned Optimus 3 version is now penciled for early 2026 at the soonest.

The Road Ahead: Uncertain Recovery

Tesla’s ability to resolve fundamental mechanical and strategic hurdles over the coming months will shape its place in the future of robotics. For now, the dream of mass-market humanoid robots remains just that: a work in progress, awaiting its next real breakthrough.