Tesla’s next humanoid robot, Optimus 3, is already walking inside the company’s offices, according to a new update from Elon Musk. He says the robot still needs some “finishing touches” before its public reveal, which is now expected in April 2026.
Musk shared the update on March 31, closing out the first quarter of 2026. He confirmed that Optimus 3 is moving around Tesla locations, but he added that the team is still polishing the robot before it is ready for a formal unveiling. Earlier, Tesla had aimed to present Optimus 3 within the first quarter of the year, so the move to April marks a short delay, not a major shift in direction.
The extra time seems focused on reliability, presentation and final tuning rather than starting from scratch.
What sets Optimus 3 apart
Optimus 3 is described inside Tesla as a significant step beyond earlier versions of the Tesla Bot. Musk has said it is intended to be “the world’s most advanced robot — nothing’s even close,” framing it as a flagship product for the company’s artificial intelligence and robotics efforts.
The latest generation brings a number of technical upgrades. Optimus 3 is reported to use 22 degrees of freedom in its hands, up from 11 in the previous generation, and about 50 actuators across the robot. That level of control should help with more precise grasping and manipulation of objects in everyday environments. The robot is also expected to run on Tesla’s AI5 chip and to integrate voice and decision-making features linked to the company’s Grok model.
Engineers have talked about packaging the components so that the robot is easier to build in large numbers.
Now, Optimus 3 is walking around Tesla offices. Musk has long argued that humanoid robots could first take over repetitive or physically demanding tasks in Tesla factories before reaching customer homes or businesses.
To support that plan, Tesla has already reconfigured its Fremont facility in California. That factory, once known for building Model S and Model X vehicles, has been shifted to focus heavily on Optimus production.
Production targets mentioned by Musk include as many as 1 million units per year in Fremont at full ramp, with future capacity in Texas possibly reaching higher numbers if demand is strong enough.
Price and longer-term ambitions
Musk has spoken about a long-term price goal for Optimus 3 in the range of about $20,000 to $30,000 per unit, once production volumes are high enough to drive down costs.
During Tesla’s fourth-quarter 2025 earnings call in January, Musk acknowledged that no Optimus units were yet doing “useful work” inside the company.
Since then, activity around Optimus 3 has picked up. Tesla released a development video in late March that highlighted key production parts such as the reduction gearbox, bionic hand and high-power inverter.
Video:
Optimus will be the biggest product ever made.
— Tesla Optimus (@Tesla_Optimus) March 25, 2026
A general-purpose humanoid robot that can do useful work at scale will change the economics of labor & manufacturing.
Goal is to get Optimus to high-volume production as fast as possible.
If you’re great at AI, engineering, or… pic.twitter.com/4s92onmu2A
These steps, combined with Musk’s new comment that Optimus 3 is already walking inside Tesla offices, point to a project that is moving from concept and prototypes to something closer to deployment. Still, the April unveiling will be a major test of how far the robot has actually come.
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