Tesla is tearing out the bones of its Fremont, California factory. The automaker has begun demolishing production lines that previously built the Model S and Model X to make way for high-volume Optimus humanoid robot manufacturing.
The Model S and Model X lines went dark in early May 2026. The Model S had been in production for 14 years. The Model X ran for 11. Together, they represented the vehicles that first made Tesla a credible luxury automaker. Now the space they occupied is being rebuilt for something Tesla has never manufactured at scale before.
What is actually happening at Fremont
The repurposed floor space is being configured as an Optimus Gen 3 assembly operation. Tesla’s stated target is an annual production capacity of 1 million units.
Limited production is expected to begin in late July or August 2026. CEO Elon Musk has already tempered expectations, noting the initial ramp-up will be slow. The reasoning is straightforward: Optimus is a fundamentally new product with a supply chain and manufacturing process that has never been stress-tested at volume.
