Tesla Optimus Gen 1

What it's for

Optimus Gen 1 is not a robot for any application. It is Tesla's first working prototype, shown at AI Day in September 2022, and today it serves as a reference point: it lets you measure how far the project has come since its first, clumsy step.

At AI Day in September 2022 Gen 1 showed a slow, hesitant gait. The later stages of the program are Gen 2 (December 2023) and Gen 3 (September 2026); setting the footage from these shows side by side helps gauge the pace of the work. Parameters from the presentation: 173 cm, 57 kg, claimed payload of 20 kg. We do not have a degrees-of-freedom figure or a full datasheet for this version. It never went on sale anywhere and remained a technology demonstration.

What you cannot do with Gen 1: you cannot buy it, rent it or deploy it. If you are looking for a working humanoid, see Unitree G1 or Figure 03. The current state of Tesla's project is described in “Tesla Optimus: What We Actually Know (as of September 2026)”, and the broader background in “How Does a Humanoid Robot Work”. See also the later generations: Tesla Optimus Gen 2 and Tesla Optimus Gen 3. Factory-floor applications are covered in “Factories and manufacturing”.

Who it's for

Gen 1 is for you if you write about the history of humanoids, teach robotics, build a market timeline or want to understand the pace at which Tesla is developing Optimus. For analysts it is source material for setting promises against results.

It is not for you if: you are looking for a robot to buy (it was never on sale); you need a full datasheet, since the degrees-of-freedom figure and other parameters of this version are missing; or you want to judge the quality of Optimus today, because this version is out of date, replaced by Gen 2 in December 2023. Anyone looking for a real choice for a company should move on to humanoid robots and “How Much Does a Humanoid Robot Cost in 2026”.

Deployments

Gen 1 was a technology demonstration shown at AI Day in 2022. Later versions of Optimus work inside Tesla's factories, but we have no plant names or results, so we do not describe them as deployments. From the humanoid category, Agility Digit 5 (logistics) and Figure 03 work in pilots, among others. The realities of Polish shop floors are described in “Humanoid Robots in Factories 2026”.

If you want to follow the story further, the next step is Tesla Optimus Gen 2, listed at about PLN 116,300 (≈ EUR 26,650 at NBP rate 4.3641 of 21 October 2026), converted from Musk's estimate of USD 30,000, so that is a claimed figure, not a price list. Tesla Optimus Gen 3 is the latest version, shown in September 2026. If instead you want a machine you can actually use today: Unitree G1 is on sale for about PLN 52,300 (≈ EUR 11,980), Figure 03 works in industrial pilots with a 20 kg payload, and 1X NEO is in pre-order at about PLN 77,524 (≈ EUR 17,760) and targets the home. For comparison with the most advanced designs, look at Atlas (56 DOF). None of these models is a copy of Gen 1, but each shows how humanoid development looked after 2022.

The story of Optimus begins in August 2021 with the announcement of a "Tesla robot". Gen 1, the first working prototype, was shown at AI Day in September 2022; the demo showed a slow, hesitant gait but marked the start of the program. In December 2023 Tesla presented Gen 2 with a lighter build and improved hands, and in September of that same year it showed Optimus sorting blocks and holding yoga poses. In June 2024 Musk announced limited production in 2025, and in October 2024 (the "We, Robot" event) a price of about USD 30,000. In June 2025 Milan Kovac left the program and was replaced by Ashok Elluswamy. In late 2025 Optimus appeared before the public in London and Berlin, and in September 2026 Gen 3 was presented. We develop the full timeline in “Tesla Optimus: What We Actually Know (as of September 2026)”.