Tesla is bringing its Optimus humanoid robot to Capitol Hill this week as part of a robotics symposium hosted in the Cannon House Office Building, Axios has learned.
The event comes at a tense time for Tesla and its CEO Elon Musk, whose close ties to President Trump and aggressive approach to cutting government programs as head of DOGE have drawn criticism from Democrats.
A congressional invitation obtained by Axios confirms that Tesla will have the Optimus robot on display for lawmakers and staff. “We hope you or your boss might be able to stop by and take a glimpse of the future,” the invite reads, adding that the event is open to all staff, set to take place on Wednesday, March 26.
Musk recently shared new updates on Tesla’s Optimus humanoid robot during an all-hands meeting on March 20. He revealed that Tesla has built its first Optimus unit on a new pilot production line at its Fremont, California factory. The goal is to produce around 5,000 robots by the end of 2025, with internal targets as high as 12,000. Musk called the first wave of robots a “Roman legion” and said Tesla aims to scale production to 50,000 units in 2026.
The robots will first be used in Tesla’s own factories for repetitive or undesirable tasks. Eventually, they could be offered to Tesla employees and later to the public.
Tesla plans to price the robot between $20,000 and $30,000, and Musk claims Optimus could generate over $10 trillion in revenue in the long run.
