Tesla places 5,000-unit initial order for Optimus, eyes 1,000-to-2,500-a-week ramp
Tesla has reportedly placed an initial order for about 5,000 Optimus units with its Ningbo suppliers, targeting 1,000 units a week by late September and 2,000-2,500 a week by year-end — though Tesla missed a similar 5,000-unit target by more than 90% in 2025, leaving this ramp's delivery in question.
Tesla's robotics team visited Ningbo, in China's Zhejiang province, on September 16 and spent the following day auditing component suppliers, upgrading three manufacturers — Tuopu Group (actuators and chassis parts), Ningbo Joyson Electronic (sensors) and Zhejiang Sanhua Intelligent Controls (thermal management) — from provisional to certified mass-production status, multiple outlets reported.
Alongside the certification, Tesla reportedly placed an initial order of roughly 5,000 Optimus units. The production plan reportedly calls for 1,000 units a week by late September, scaling to 2,000-2,500 a week by year-end, though Tesla itself has not officially confirmed the figures.
That pace would put the company within reach of its roughly 50,000-unit 2026 target, but Tesla set a similar 5,000-unit goal for Optimus in 2025 and ended up building only a few hundred, missing it by more than 90%. Some observers note the new ramp plan risks repeating the same overoptimism.
Shares of the Chinese suppliers -- Tuopu, Sanhua and Joyson -- extended last week's audit-driven rally on the fresh order news.
Optimus remains one of two pillars, alongside robotaxi, of Tesla's long-term valuation story, but given its track record of delays, investors are likely to stay cautious until actual weekly shipment volumes are confirmed.
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