In a move brimming with his signature understated confidence, Tesla, Inc. CEO Elon Musk announced the company is “finalizing the design of Optimus version 3.” Speaking at the All-In Summit on September 10, 2025, Musk laid out a trifecta of ambitious goals for the next-gen humanoid: human-level manual dexterity, an “AI mind that can navigate and comprehend reality,” and, most crucially, very high-volume production. He casually added that other robotics companies are simply “missing those three things,” a statement sure to be pinned on the R&D dartboards at Boston Dynamics and Figure AI.
Musk claimed he’s spending more “mental cycles on Optimus than anything else right now,” a notable admission from a man juggling rockets, brain implants, and a global social media platform. The core challenge, he explained, is that “there’s no supply chain for humanoid robots, so we’re recreating it from scratch.” This vertical integration approach is classic Musk, a high-risk, high-reward strategy that aims to control every component, from actuators to AI chips, to achieve the scale he envisions.
Why is this important?
While building a walking robot is one thing, manufacturing it at scale with a truly autonomous AI is the holy grail of robotics. Musk’s focus on high-volume production, dexterity, and an advanced AI brain targets the three biggest hurdles preventing humanoids from leaving the lab and entering the workforce. If Tesla can actually solve the monumental supply chain and manufacturing problems for a complex machine like Optimus, it could fundamentally disrupt global labor markets. However, these remain bold claims in an industry famous for missed deadlines; the real test will be whether Optimus V3 can perform meaningful work autonomously, not just in a highly-scripted demo.
