Image: Tesla
Tesla has begun construction on a brand-new production facility at its Gigafactory Texas site dedicated to manufacturing the company’s Optimus humanoid robots, marking a major milestone in its AI and robotics ambitions.
According to Giga Texas observer Joe Tegtmeyer (@JoeTegtmeyer), a new “stand-alone factory is starting construction” on the east side of the site, alongside River Road expansion work and several other ongoing projects. “This follows the shareholders meeting & info that a 10-million-per-year @Tesla_Optimus production facility ‘on the Giga Texas campus’ will be built & enter into production in 2027,” Tegtmeyer wrote on X.
Tesla first confirmed plans for the dedicated Optimus factory during its 2025 shareholder meeting last week. CEO Elon Musk revealed that pilot production of Optimus V3 units is already underway at the company’s Fremont Factory, where Tesla aims to ramp up to 1 million units per year by late 2026. The much larger V3 production line being built at Giga Texas is expected to come online sometime in 2027, with a projected annual capacity of 10 million robots.
Image: Tesla
Musk said the company is targeting a manufacturing cost of around $20,000 per unit once production scales. Optimus robots are already being tested across Tesla’s factories and offices, performing tasks such as moving parts, sorting materials, and assisting with repetitive production line duties.
During Tesla’s Q3 earnings call last month, Musk teased the upcoming Optimus V3 design, set to be unveiled in February or March 2026. He described it as “so real that you’ll need to poke it to believe it’s an actual robot.”
In addition to the Optimus factory, Tegtmeyer noted that Tesla’s Giga Texas Riverfront Ecological Park project is progressing on a similar timeline, with public sports parks, trails, and nature access expected to open by 2026.
