Elon Musk shields Optimus V3 technology from rival surveillance

Elon Musk has expressed caution regarding the public debut of Optimus V3, Tesla’s humanoid robot, citing fears that "competitors do a frame-by-frame analysis whenever we release something and copy everything they possibly can."

Speaking during the Q1 earnings call on Wednesday, the CEO described the robot as "Tesla’s biggest product ever" but insisted on maintaining secrecy until the technology is closer to production.

Tesla expects to begin manufacturing at its Fremont facility around late July or August, following a massive retooling project that involved discontinuing the Model S and Model X lines earlier this January.

The transition is a formidable challenge, with Musk noting that dismantling and reinstalling factory lines in just four months would be "an insanely fast speed."

Once operational, the Fremont line aims for an annual output of one million robots. Furthermore, a second line at the Texas Gigafactory is planned for a summer 2027 start, with a long-term target of ten million units.

Musk clarified that Optimus will initially perform simple factory tasks, aided by an "orchestration AI" linked to the Grok chatbot.

He believes the robot will eventually work for several hours without management oversight, potentially performing tasks outside factories "sometime next year."

To facilitate this ambitious shift, Tesla recently halted production of its legacy luxury saloons to prioritise the humanoid project.

This move underscores Musk’s commitment to robotics as the future of the company. Looking ahead, the Texas facility is expected to become the primary hub for global robot production as the company scales its generative AI capabilities.