Report: Tesla Auditing China Suppliers as Optimus Enters Mass Production Push

Tesla has started auditing suppliers across China’s Yangtze River Delta as it pushes the Optimus humanoid robot toward mass production, according to an exclusive report from The Paper published September 21.

Optimus is Tesla’s humanoid robot program, and the company has said it plans to build several thousand units this year. The model headed for mass production is the third-generation robot, described as Tesla’s first designed for volume manufacturing. It has also surfaced in Tesla’s software, with a recent app update adding Optimus-related references.

The report names three listed suppliers now under audit: Tuopu Group (601689), Sanhua Intelligent Controls (002050) and Joyson Electronics (600699). These companies make joint modules, actuators and precision structural components. According to the report, each had already received Optimus orders of varying volumes before the audits began.

Audits began last week and cover production-line quality and compliance, with manufacturing expected to start soon after suppliers pass. Contrary to online rumors of a Ningbo-only effort, the report says Hangzhou, Shanghai and other Yangtze Delta cities are also covered. The suppliers are described as basically all existing Tesla automotive supply-chain partners.

The third-generation robot features upgraded dexterous hands and joint actuators, with first deployments planned for factory material handling and simple assembly-line assistance. The Paper puts the long-term per-unit cost target at $20,000 to $30,000, and claims Tesla converted its former Model S/X production line into a dedicated Optimus line planned for 1 million units per year. A second line at the Texas Gigafactory is being prepared for a long-term designed 10 million units annually, expected around next summer.

Musk has called humanoid mass production “the most difficult product Tesla has ever mass-produced.” Tesla has not confirmed the audits, the order volumes or the capacity figures; every claim traces to The Paper‘s anonymous supply-chain sources.  

Production should begin soon after suppliers pass their audits. The next thing to watch is whether Tesla confirms the audit program or announces the formal start of Optimus mass production.